Brendan Howlin
Question:144 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Transport when he proposes to fully commence all sections of the Road Traffic Act 2006. [6535/07]
View answerWednesday, 21 February 2007
Questions (97)
Written answers
The Road Traffic Act 2006 was passed by the Oireachtas on 6th July 2006 and was signed by the President on 16th July 2006. I signed a Commencement Order in July which brought a number of the provisions in the Act into effect from Friday 21st July 2006.
The key policy initiatives set out in the Act were commenced without delay including Mandatory Alcohol Testing (MAT) checkpoints, a ban on the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving, and the legislative provision supporting the operation of privately operated speed cameras.
In addition, Section 16 of the Act was part-commenced with effect from 1 September 2006 in order to enable penalty points to apply to the offence of driving while holding a mobile phone.
Section 5 of the Act provides for the introduction of a fixed charge and disqualification for certain drink driving offences. This was not commenced immediately, pending the necessary administrative and enforcement preparations, which are now in hand. Neither section 5 nor the remainder of section 16 can be commenced until such time as the administrative and enforcement procedures are in place. Both sections require adjustments to the Garda Fixed Charge Processing and IT systems and in this context, it is proposed to commence these sections as soon as possible.
A number of sections in the Act relate to the imposition of disqualification orders and fines by the courts. I intend to commence these provisions very shortly.
Question No. 145 answered with QuestionNo. 117.