Cullen explains the delay with penalty points

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen has blamed the Department of Justice and the Garda for delays in expanding the penalty points system.

Addressing the Oireachtas Committee on Transport yesterday, Mr Cullen said his department was ready to expand radically the number of driver transgressions which could attract penalty points, but the Garda and the Department of Justice had told him they would not be ready until next April.

While Mr Cullen said he was "not trying to make an issue of it", the problem was "all within the remit of the Department of Justice and the gardaí . . . this won't come as a surprise to them. There is no issue with me or my officials on legislation on this issue".

Last week, Assistant Garda Commissioner Eddie Rock assured the committee that the Garda had no difficulties in handling the penalty points system.

Penalty points are applicable for four out of a proposed total of 69 driver offences. These are: breaking the speed limit; not wearing a seat-belt; careless driving and driving without insurance.

Mr Cullen wants the points system expanded to include "key safety issues such as dangerous overtaking, failure to obey traffic lights, stop-and-yield signs and vehicles crossing the centre white lines on roads".

He also responded to recent criticism from Eddie Shaw, chairman of the National Safety Council, who said responsibility for road safety was spread across many departments. Mr Shaw complained that there was no single agency responsible for road safety in government. Costs were incurred by one department while the benefits were reaped by other departments, he said.

Mr Cullen told Fine Gael deputy Paul Connaughton that he did not envisage a single minister being put in charge of all aspects of road safety.

Mr Cullen did promise to "look at the structures", as recommended by Mr Shaw. "Maybe the structures are not good enough, but I am prepared to look at them. I have spoken to Eddie Shaw myself."

Labour's transport spokeswoman, Róisín Shortall, accused Mr Cullen of "hiding behind legal advice" while not telling the committee what that legal advice was.

In a heated exchange, Ms Shortall said that the Driver Testing and Standards Bill had been turned into a Bill to create a road safety authority. This was being done by promised amendments to the Bill, but no one had seen what those amendments were.

Mr Cullen promised to arrange a briefing on the changes with opposition spokespeople before the end of November. He also revealed a growing problem with motorists misusing drugs. Some 527 requests had been made to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety in 2005 for analysis of samples to detect the presence of drugs.