FG calls for action on horses

County councils in the Dublin area were unable to implement the Control of Horses Act because they did not have the resources, the Fine Gael deputy leader, Mrs Nora Owen, claimed.

She joined with other deputies in expressing relief that nobody was killed when an articulated lorry crashed into a double-decker coach carrying schoolboys on the Chapelizod Bypass on Wednesday night. Mrs Owen also called for action to deal with the problem of wandering horses in urban roads and housing estates, and suggested an "aggressive advertising campaign" on road safety.

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said the legislation was, by and large, being implemented, but there were major problems over resources and the micro-tagging of horses. He said he did not believe that an advertising campaign on its own would be adequate. While there would be the normal pre-Christmas road safety campaign and the ongoing programmes, he did not believe that they were enough. Mr Ahern said it was not clear that wandering horses had caused the accident, and the investigations would continue. He said that the initiative, started some weeks ago, of bringing together all the groups involved in road safety would be pursued with vigour.

The Minister for the Environment was examining the issue of safety on buses transporting children, while the Minister of State for Education was also looking into the matter.

Thankfully, he said, there had not been the kind of tragedy that could have happened, and he paid tribute to the Garda and the rescue services who were at the scene. "There is no doubt that it was a very near thing for many of them, and I want to send on the sympathy of the House to those who did suffer."

The Labour leader, Mr Dick Spring, said that the Taoiseach should bring proposals before the House to deal with the issue. There should be a strong message from Mr Ahern and his colleagues to stop the mayhem on the roads. The leader of Democratic Left, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, described the accident as a "near catastrophe". He suggested that the Taoiseach bring together the managers of the major urban areas where horses running out of control were a serious problem and find out why the Control of Horses Act had not been implemented. Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) said parents' groups had been calling for regulations covering children's transport.

Mr Austin Currie (FG, Dublin West) said his office had contacted South Dublin County Council on Wednesday morning about horses roaming in the Lucan area adjacent to the motorway.