The question of the regulation and control of motor bus traffic has been raised on several occasions in this House, and on every occasion that the matter has been raised here we have been answered by the assurance that an Inter-departmental Traffic Committee has been set up by the Ministry, and pending the report and recommendations of that committee nothing in the shape of amending legislation could be considered. The question of introducing an amending Bill regarding traffic regulations in connection with motor buses is a problem in itself, but the administration of the law as we find it to-day is quite another matter. I am here to charge the Minister and the Department responsible for the administration of these traffic regulations with not having these regulations carried out in the way they should be. There is not the supervision one would expect, and which would be in the interests of the travelling public. As a result, within the past seven or eight days two persons have been killed on Merrion Road. I thought fit to put down a question in connection with this matter. The Minister, in reply, gave me information to show that for the first six months of 1927 there were 354 prosecutions for speeding and overcrowding, and 261 convictions were secured. The average fine in the case of those convicted works out at 16s. each. In the first six months of 1928 there were 1,505 prosecutions and 1,266 convictions, and the average fine works out at 13s. 8d. in the case of each person convicted. That would go to show that there is leniency rather than an attempt on the part of the Minister's Department to enforce the existing traffic regulations. There is an increase of almost 300 per cent. in the number of individuals prosecuted, either for exceeding the speed limit or for allowing overcrowding of buses. Nobody, not even the Minister for Justice himself, could suggest that the number of motor buses plying for hire to-day is three times what it was twelve months ago. Therefore there must be a growing disregard on the part of the bus drivers or owners for the existing traffic laws. As to the question of speeding, we are aware that a regulation was recently issued by, I think, the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, under which the speed limit was increased from twelve to twenty miles per hour. I do not think that even that has had the desired effect. I will quote a couple of cases that were brought under the notice of the Courts recently. The most recent case that I have brought to my notice is a case in the Booterstown-Blackrock area, the same area in which those two citizens have recently been killed by buses. This case was tried in the District Court on last Wednesday. I quote from the "Evening Herald" of the same date:
In the Dublin District Court to-day, before Mr. Little, James O'Brien, 33 Moss St., was charged with having driven a Red Car bus at a speed dangerous to the public on the road between Booterstown and Blackrock.
Edward O'Carroll, 75 Lr. Mount St., was charged with a similar offence at the same time and place when he was driving a General bus.
Sergeant Lynch, 25F, who, with Guard Hanrahan, 30F, proved the cases, told the Court that the buses were doing over thirty-two miles an hour and were apparently racing. (That is the point that I want to bring to the Minister's notice.) Each defendant was fined £3, which was reduced to £2 in the case of O'Carroll, who said he had already been fined £2.
Now, here is an individual who is brought up before the District Court and on the first offence is fined £3. The other individual is brought before the Court on a second offence, and when he points that out to the District Justice the fine is immediately reduced to £2. In the Kilmainham District Court about three months ago I noticed another case published in the papers where a bus driver was charged with having fourteen passengers in his bus in excess of its registered carrying capacity. The District Justice fined the driver the sum of 10/-. I understand that the bus was a long-distance one, belonging to the Irish Omnibus Company, and it would only take about two fares to make up that very small fine. On the same day I understand that the Great Southern Railways Company was prosecuted and fined £20 for having one pig in a waggon in excess of the number allowed under the regulations of the Department of Agriculture. Of course, I could quote these cases until 11 o'clock to-morrow night if I wanted to, but I do not want to trouble the Minister.