Speed potential of cars questioned

A Government backbencher has questioned the wisdom of licensing cars that can go faster than the top speed limit on Irish roads.

Mr Barry Andrews (FF, Dún Laoghaire) said that he did not want to sound like a "flat-earther", but cars were being sold today "capable of travelling at enormous speeds. It is incredible, pointless and will always be illegal to travel at such speeds."

Speaking during the debate on the Road Traffic Bill, which allows for the metrication of speed limits, he said: "If it will always be illegal to travel faster than 120 km per hour when this Bill becomes law, is it right to license vehicles that can go faster?"

He accepted it could not be dealt with under the current legislation, but "perhaps the introduction of some kind of damper could be considered at a later stage. That being said, those speeds are not always the most dangerous. A speed limit of 50 miles an hour in a built-up area can be equally lethal."

Ms Fiona O'Malley (PD, Dún Laoghaire) called for the ending of 24-hour bus lanes. She said: "The taxpayers, through motor tax and many other means, fund the roads and are entitled to use them. The question of a 24-hour bus lane should be absolutely extinguished."