Kenny attacks Goverment over road safety

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has attacked the Government for a "litany of broken promises" on road safety which he said has caused a rapid increase in the number of deaths on the State's roads.

Speaking in the Dáil this morning, Mr Kenny said the Government's had spent much of the last ten years in office marked by "crisis in the health services, rampant crime and the fact that Ireland has become the most expensive country in europe."

But, focussing on road safety, Mr Kenny said the Government’s "failure to deliver on their commitments...is leading to unnecessary carnage on the roads.

"As this Government heads in to its ninth year in power the list of broken commitments is a stark reminder of the fact that when those in power fail to do their job, where road traffic safety is concerned, it really is a matter of life or death."

Mr Kenny said penalty points have not been rolled out fully, speed cameras number three in total and the drink driving conviction rate has plummeted

Mr Kenny listed the areas of greatest concern:

The Government, he said, had promised in 1998 to roll out speed cameras nationally within two years. Seven years later only 3 speed cameras in the Greater Dublin area are in operation at any one time.

The Government had promised to introduce 69 different penalty points by the end of 2003. By 2005 only three penalty points have been enacted. On average only one Garda in every station is trained in the use of breathalyser machines, Mr Kenny said.

In 2003 the Minister for Transport promised compulsory training for motorcyclists before they go on the road. There is still no such training regime and motorcyclists make up 2 per cent of road traffic users but 15 per cent of the fatalities.

The numbers convicted of drink driving between 2001 and 2003 dropped from 6,709 in 2001 to 3,060 in 2003, Mr Kenny said.

So far this year 172 people have been killed on the State's roads, a 12 per cent increase on 2004.

In response, the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, who spoke in the absence of the Taoiseach said that "although the numbers of fatalities on our roads are too high, they are a lot better they they were a number years ago"

She pointed to the fact that the Government had decided to increase the membership of An Garda Siochana by 2,000.

"As part of that, a new dedicated traffic corps is going to be established and that is essential if we are to enforce safety standards on our roads," she added.