Every Member of the House will support measures to increase safety on the roads and prevent accidents and deaths. Following the announcement by the Minister for Transport yesterday, is it intended to enforce the regulations, in so far as provisional licence holders are concerned, from 1 January? Is this not a case of putting the cart before the horse in that there is no real plan or agenda by Government to deal with the issue of the 45% failure rate of driving tests? Inconsistency applies between centres for driving tests, for instance, between Sligo and Clonmel. There is a complete lack of regulation in respect of driving instructors and driving instructor schools and inadequate provision of driving instruction being incorporated in second level schools where driving instruction should be of critical importance, as it is for life.
The thousands of people who want to do the driving test but who have to wait six and eight months to do so will now find themselves outside the law if they attempt to drive to and from work or school and if nobody is available to travel with them, they will have to get a taxi, hire a hackney or not travel at all. Is it intended to implement all of these regulations from 1 January and will the Government, in implementing these road safety measures, take these issues into account? What progress is the Government making towards decreasing the time individuals have to wait for their driving tests?