Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 17 Feb 2015

Vol. 868 No. 1

Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members]

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I wish to introduce the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2015. This Bill has come to be known as Jake's law in memory of six year old Jake Brennan, who was knocked down and lost his life at 6.25 p.m. on 12 June 2014. Jake died in his mother's arms on the street where he lived and played for his all too short young life. In truth, this Bill would not be before the Dáil today but for the determination, persistence and powerful love of Jake's family, that is, his father Christopher and his mother Roseann. I extend Members' welcome and thanks to Rosie, Chris and all the families and supporters of Jake's Legacy who join Members this evening in the Gallery. Jake is not the only child to lose his life in tragic circumstances and is not the only child to be injured or killed on the roads. Between 1997 and 2012, 262 children aged 14 and under lost their lives and a further 1,115 were seriously injured on the roads. While 60% of child fatalities occurred outside built-up residential areas or in other words, in areas with a speed limit of 60 km/h or more, 57% of child injuries occurred in built-up residential areas. These are some of the statistics but as Members are aware, none of these precious children is a statistic. Jake is not a statistic.

I first met Rosie when she knocked on my front door at home in Cabra. We drank tea and talked and she told me about her Jakey, her firstborn child. She told me how she held him as he slipped away from this life. She told me that her life, as well as those of Chris, Kaelem and baby Savannah would never be the same again. She then told me she would not and could not bear for any other mother to suffer as she and her family now are suffering. She was campaigning for change in the form of a simple, straightforward, necessary and proportionate change in the law. Jake's law amounts to an amendment to the Road Traffic Acts to provide for a mandatory speed limit in housing estates, public or private, across the State.

The current position, in which speed limits in housing estates may be introduced as a matter of local authority discretion in a piecemeal fashion, is not satisfactory. It is not working and is not sufficient to protect the safety of residents and of children in particular. It is appropriate and necessary for the Oireachtas to set a mandatory speed limit for housing estates to guarantee the health, safety and welfare of all residents are protected equally. Jake's law creates a standardised statutory speed limit of 20 km/h to apply in housing estates as defined in the legislation. The objective is to introduce a level of safety to those housing estates in which children live, play chasing, kick footballs, hurl and ride their bicycles. Some will and have argued that 20 km/h is a very low limit. It is and is intended to be just that. It has been set in the knowledge that the greater the speed, the greater the chance of serious injury or death and that conversely, the lower the speed, the greater the chance of someone, and a child in particular, surviving an accident or a collision on the roads. This is the simple logic and that logic is sound.

The Taoiseach and other members of the Government, including the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, as well as his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, in the past have pledged support for Jake's Legacy and the campaign to achieve safety for children living in housing estates. In that regard, I welcome that the Government will not oppose this legislation tomorrow evening. However, I must tell the Minister that a passive stance on his part is not sufficient. This Bill requires and deserves the active support of the Government. That is what it pledged to Roseann and her family. That is what the Government signed up for when it pledged its support for Jake's Legacy. I have no doubt but that when the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, speaks, he will give an account of the actions he has taken in recent months including his interactions with local authorities and the circular issued to them requiring a review of speed limits in residential areas and housing estates. I have no doubt that the Minister will refer to the report issued pursuant to this review, which set out a number of recommendations on future estate design and traffic calming measures in existing estates, all of which are useful recommendations in their own right but none of which deal with the inconsistent, ad hoc approach to speed limits in housing estates. Jake's law, the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2015, remedies that gap in the law and provides a mandatory statutory speed limit applicable to all housing estates. That is the way to resolve this matter of speed limits.

The Government will not oppose the Bill's passage to Committee Stage. When the Minister responds, I ask him to set out when he envisages the Committee Stage debate will take place. I ask him to set out when he envisages that Jake's law will become the law of the land. I ask him to set out and to guarantee that this legislation will be afforded the level of urgency it deserves. It would be most disingenuous and unacceptable of the Government to act as it has with other legislative items, that is, to allow it to proceed to Committee Stage only to be left there to gather dust. The Minister should be clear that he will not get away with that tactic when it comes to Jake's law as his family and his mammy in particular will not let him away with it. If the Minister seeks a measure of their determination and in particular that of Roseann, he should look to the vigil they have mounted at the gates of Leinster House in recent days. Jake's family has been there since lunchtime on Sunday and will sleep out there again tonight. They have told me they would sooner sleep outside the Dáil from now until next Christmas than let this matter go. I believe them and the Minister should believe them as well.

On Sunday, when the vigil gathered, another woman named Rita Malone from County Clare came to support Jake's law and the Brennan family at the gates of Leinster House. Rita told her story in which her boy Oran, aged eight, was hit and badly injured in the housing estate in which his childminder lived. Rita recalled hearing Rosie on the radio talking about Jake some months earlier and told me that when she heard Rosie tell her story, she had been obliged to pull into the side of the road to compose herself because she was so upset to hear of what happened to that six year old child.

She told me that when she listened to Roseann on that occasion, she could never have imagined that she, a few months later, would find herself in a similar situation in that her own child would be hit and injured in an accident almost identical to Jake’s. Yet, that is exactly what happened. The most heart-breaking similarity between the two stories is that Rita Malone told me that, as Oran lay on the ground, injured, waiting for attention, he asked his mammy would he die. She tells of the fear she saw in the child’s face. Roseann tells exactly the same story.

The Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and I share a constituency, living no more than a stone’s throw from each other. Both of us represent a constituency where we know the consequences and the fallout of children being injured or dying in road traffic accidents. He will recall in 2007 we lost young Pádraig McGillivray in Cabra and in 2011 young Conor Hickey. Being a family man himself, the Minister knows the consequences for the families affected and for the community at large.

This law asks us as public representatives to simply remedy an obvious gap in the law. The legislation is straightforward, setting a new 20 km/h speed limit, making it binding and mandatory to ensure there is no opting in or opting out. It gives that level of universality, sureness and cover across all housing estates. The Minister, as a reasonable person, cannot turn down such a proposition. He knows leaving this matter to the discretion of local authorities has simply not cut the mustard. Above all, I know he appreciates the real suffering and hardship that Jake’s family has been through, as have many other families across the State.

We have an opportunity in this simple and straightforward legislation to resolve a dilemma and a problem. That does not always happen in political life. Very often dilemmas and problems are profoundly complex, requiring endless consideration, weighing and balancing, as well as deliberation. This is not one of those cases. This is a straightforward request to create clarity, uniformity and safety through a 20 km/h speed limit in housing estates. It means slow traffic into and out of public and private housing estates. It will require more than the €2 million earmarked by the Minister. However, the safety of our children deserves and requires nothing less.

The family of Jake Brennan is sitting behind the Minister in the Public Gallery. He cannot see them but they are looking down at him now. There is an expectation among that family, on behalf of all of the children injured or who lost their lives in circumstances similar to those of Jake's, that the Government will take the honourable, sensible and competent action on this matter. The honourable action is not to oppose this legislation in the hope it might go away but to actively support it, setting out when it will go to Committee Stage and a timeline for its passage.

May I suggest 12 June next as the date to have this law on the Statute Book, marking the first anniversary of Jake’s death. It would be a symbol for all those children injured and for all those families who have lost children in road traffic accidents. That would be an appropriate timeline to set for this legislation. In a spirit of co-operation, decency and concern for the safety of children, so many of whom live in housing estates, I hope the Minister will embrace this legislation and keep the commitment and pledge he made to Roseann Brennan and to Jake’s Legacy. I hope he will not alone allow the passage of this legislation but that he becomes its champion. I hope he, along with the rest of us, does justice to the legacy and the memory of young Jake Brennan and the reality of his family’s life, as well as every child injured on our roads. In passing this legislation, we must resolve collectively that we will do everything in our power to ensure these incidents do not occur again.

Deputy Brian Stanley

I express my admiration for Roseann and Chris Brennan, their family and supporters whom I met for the first time today. I was very impressed by their determination when I recently saw them on television. They have been protesting outside Leinster House since Sunday, only eight short months after Jake’s unfortunate death. That alone indicates their determination. When I spoke to them this morning, I was impressed again by their determination to ensure steps are taken to address the issue of speed limits in housing estates and to lessen the possibility of similar tragedies occurring in the future. I acknowledge that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Taoiseach have met with the Brennan family. Hopefully, this will be followed up by allowing this Bill not just to go forward to Committee Stage but to be actually passed by the Dáil and Seanad and enacted.

Ramps and other traffic-calming measures such as build-outs, in use in many housing estates, are effective but only part of the solution. Build-outs have been installed in many estates such as Ard Erin in Mountrath, County Laois, and in Cois Na hAbhainn, Portlaoise, County Laois. While they assist traffic calming, some drivers just wait for the opportunity to put the foot down again and speed off when they get past them.

The number of deaths of young children in housing estates as a result of road accidents is unacceptable. In Portlaoise alone, in the past several years, two children have been killed as a result of traffic accidents in housing estates. While people must drive through housing estates, it must be remembered they are also play areas for children. While we cannot make these 100% safe, there is more we can do. Most of all, we must develop and foster a culture of driver responsibility and road safety with particular emphasis on driving safely in housing estates.

Roseann and Christopher Brennan told me today that they are anxious to change people’s attitudes towards speeding, particularly in residential areas. It must be made totally unacceptable for people to speed in housing estates. Several decades ago drink-driving was socially acceptable. It is not now. The same must happen with speeding in residential areas and everywhere. This Bill will put further responsibility on drivers, helping create and foster a change of attitudes about which Roseann and Christopher Brennan spoke to me.

I, along with local Sinn Féin representatives in Laoighis-Offaly, have been demanding the introduction of 20 km/h speed limits in residential areas for a long time but the local authorities oppose this with claims the lowest limit one can go to is 30 km/h.

We must change that. We must enable councils and councillors to have that as a reserve function, particularly where children are playing because that is not sufficient. The whole issue of blanket speed limits is not logical. At the moment, there is a review coming up, of which the Minister is aware, across the local authorities where the blanket 80 km/h speed limits were put on all rural roads. They are all now being reviewed and changed, because they can be seen on very good roads and on boreens that are only about 3 m wide. If we can change it on those roads, we can change it for housing estates.

We must have the speed limit to fit the road. The speed limit has to reflect the roads in the area, but also other factors such as housing density and the proximity and location of play areas. There is a situation in Kilberry, near Athy in County Kildare, where Bord na Móna lorries go up and down right by the play area in the housing estates near the local Bord na Móna factory. People do not want to stop the lorries going up and down, but they do want to reduce the speed limit. The local councillors in that area need to have the law on their side and need to have the power to do this.

We need to be able to get away from the situation where we can just have blanket 50 km/h speed limits across the board in urban areas. The designation of residential areas for 20 km/h speed limits needs to be decided locally. As a former councillor, I stress - I know councillors have some say - that to change the speed limit locally, which I have tried many times, is a very hard battle to get through. The best-placed people to do it are local councillors. Our Bill would provide for that.

There are guidelines issued by the Minister's Department, which set out some of what needs to be done, but the Department must go further. Along with some of the physical measures I mentioned, such as build-outs and ramps, there must also be allowance for speed limits to be put in place to facilitate situations like this. The designation of housing estates - of what constitutes a residential area - needs to be done by local councillors and our Bill provides for that. It sets out that it is a reserve function under by-laws.

I ask all sides of the House to support the Bill. Like the previous speaker, Deputy Mary Lou McDonald, I ask that the Government gets behind this and does not just let it run into the sand and go to the committee and nothing else happens. It should do this and do it before June. It would be a very good legacy for this Dáil to have, to say that we brought in this Bill.

Deputy Michael Colreavy

Go raibh maith agat. Those of us who are parents and grandparents will recall when we heard of young Jake's death. Although I do not know the Brennan family - I have not met them although I hope I will - I must say that our hearts went out and we understood in some way the pain and anguish that family went through and is going through. That understanding of the pain and anguish, with me certainly, turned to a very strong admiration, because here was a family who, in the midst of their grief, stood back and tried to find something good that would come out of such a tragedy. I think the interviews with the Brennan family were far more persuasive than anything I can say here as to why our legislation should be passed through this Dáil after the debate tonight and tomorrow night.

Taking up a point to which Deputy McDonald referred earlier, there are different kinds of debate in this Chamber. Sometimes legislation is put forward that is hugely complex. There might be a question over whether it is in conflict with EU legislation or policy. There might be conflict over whether it impacts on other Irish legislation. There might indeed be conflict over whether the legislation is desirable and there are many ideological debates as to whether legislation might be advantageous or desirable. There might be debates over legislation which all sides agree is desirable, but which cannot be afforded by the State. We have all that range of debate in legislation, but I think this is one piece of legislation that everybody here will agree is good, necessary and doable. It is doable now.

For some legislation, there might be question marks over whether the perceived benefits of implementing it are as great as presented by its proponents. There is no such conflict here. The evidence is clear. Reducing speed in housing estates will save the lives of children, adults and elderly and infirm people. The evidence is there and is clear. There are two issues here. First, will the Government take this as a serious piece of legislation? Will it ensure that it gets a fast passage through the Houses and, most importantly, will it ensure it is enforced? Legislation that is not enforced will not save lives. Enforcement is essential.

We all hear talk now regarding children and obesity, that it is important that children can play outside, can play their games of football, cross the road to the park, or enjoy the God-given air of this land or ours. Oftentimes, particularly in the larger housing estates, parents are fearful of letting their children out and one of the fears is of traffic driving through the estates. Very few people set out to kill or badly injure somebody with a car. That very seldom happens. However, there are drivers who, unless there are consequences to their actions, will drive dangerously and recklessly. A child can be killed by someone driving within the law on the streets of our housing estates at present. That is bad. It is possible to drive within the permitted regulation and still pose a very real risk to the lives of children and other vulnerable people on the streets of our estates.

I was discussing the fact that we were putting forward this legislation tonight with a person over the weekend. He was a young chap and likes fast cars. I did not think anyone would have a view like this, but he said to me, "Micheál, it is nearly impossible to drive for any distance at 20 km/h." That is the mindset that has to be changed. We are not talking about Mondello Park - we are talking about housing estates where people drive a couple of hundred metres, slow down, turn left and gradually pick up speed again. It is not a race track or a highway. That is the kind of change of mind we have to bring around in society, probably starting with our young drivers. One thing is sure - unless the legislation is changed to make it an offence to travel greater than 20 km/h in our housing estates, those young people will continue to drive too fast.

Those young people regard speed limits as minimum, not maximum, speed limits. We can say that is wrong and that they should not do that, but that is the way it is.

The Brennan family have made a totally persuasive case and we, as legislators, have a responsibility to bring about this change. The Minister will have our full support in ensuring this legislation has a speedy passage through the House. He will also have our full support in ensuring it is implemented properly. Society will thank the Minister for that and it will watch to see the difference it will make in our housing estates.

I do not want to hear of any more cases like Jake Brennan's. In particular, I do not want to hear of any more Jake Brennan cases where the finger can be pointed at me, at the Minister and at Members of this House in that if we had done something about this, perhaps the young life may not have taken.

I understand the legislation we are putting forward will not be opposed by the Government but it must be actively supported by it. It must be brought through the Houses of the Oireachtas quickly and implemented. I repeat the Minister will have our full support in doing that.

Deputy Pearse Doherty

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas agus mo chomhghairdeas mór le Roseann Brennan agus a fear chéile. Tá obair díograiseach déanta acu ó thaobh shábháilteacht bóthair i mbailte móra agus go háirithe in eastáit tithíochta a ardú. Spreag an tragóid a tharla dá ngasúr beag, Jake, an feachtas seo. Mar a dúirt an Teachta Dála McDonald, chaill Jake a shaol níos lú ná bliain ó shin i gCill Chainnigh. Ón am sin ar aghaidh, níl dabht ar bith ann ach gur chuir a mháthair cuid mhór leis an bhfeachtas chun teorainn luais de 20 km/h a chur i bhfeidhm in eastáit tithíochta. Tá sé soiléir go bhfuil an reachtaíocht seo de dhíth, ach tá oideachas de dhíth fosta ó thaobh tiománaithe agus an dáinséar atá ann agus iad ag tiomáint le hardluas i gceantair dá leithéid. Is ceantair iad seo ina féidir páistí a bheith ag súgradh agus ag caitheamh a gcuid ama.

As has been done, it is appropriate that Roseann Brennan and her husband are commended on the work they have done in regard to road safety since the tragic death of their little boy, Jake, a death which occurred less than a year ago in Kilkenny. I am sure it rips the heart out of any parent to see their child snatched from them at such a very young age. We are all familiar with cases in our constituencies where children have lost their lives at an early age and as a result of road fatalities and fatalities in housing estates. Some of those cannot be averted, some have happened because people have reversed out of their driveways and, unbeknownst to them, a toddler is behind the car and some are complete accidents. We cannot prevent all accidents.

What this legislation is trying to do, however, is to change behaviour, to educate and to make it a law that one cannot travel at inappropriate speeds where children are playing. I hear the news bulletins, as we all do, that a young person has lost his or her life in a tragic collision in a housing estate and one feels for the family. Even today when I was leaving for the House, my own children ran out to wave me off. My youngest is just two years of age and as I was reversing out, I wondered if he was behind the car as I could not see him in the side mirror. It is a fear every parent will have and, unfortunately, it is a fear visited on far too many parents, which possibly could be averted.

This is sensible legislation and is a call for action. In response to the campaign by Roseann Brennan, the Minister called on local authorities to review speed limits in residential areas and housing estates and to improve road safety for cyclists and pedestrians alike, but what was missing was the legislation and the fact no law was enacted. If we are to be a progressive Legislature, we must believe we enact laws for the betterment of society and that we see that good laws change behaviour and attitudes, which is a good result.

There have been many examples of this in the past. I refer to the laws in regard to drink driving. We all remember when people drove after consuming alcohol. It was the norm in Irish society for far too many people. However, when the limit was reduced, the law was changed and penalties were increased, behaviour was modified but, more importantly, attitudes to drink driving changed and it is now socially unacceptable to drink and drive. We must do the same with speed. We must make it unacceptable to drive fast where children are playing or anywhere it is unsafe to do so.

The most important aim of this Bill is simple, it is to save lives. Figures from Britain and Australia show that the odds against dying on the roads increase dramatically the slower the speed of the vehicle. At 20 km/h, there will be injury if a person collides with the car or if a car collides with a person, but death is unlikely. This is without doubt a very low speed limit but we must remember that it will be only in areas where there is housing. Most drivers do not exceed 20 km/h in an area that is built up or in a housing estate because they are aware of the dangers of small children playing beside roads. A child might run out onto the road to try to get a ball and the next thing it is too late.

I know the Minister is not opposing the legislation but we have seen this too often. It is the way the Government can say is not opposing the legislation, but it parks it in committee. Deputy McDonald made the call to mark Jake's anniversary in June by making it the day this law is enacted. That would be a commendable thing for the Minister to do.

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan

I thank Sinn Féin for permitting me to speak on this hugely important Bill. I strongly support Deputies McDonald and Ellis in bringing forward this legislation and salute them for so doing. For somewhat similar reasons, approximately 17 or 18 years ago when I was chair of the general purpose committee of Dublin City Council, I tried to move forward the concept of home zones, which I had heard about in Holland, where residential estates would have a much lower speed limit than the speed limit even on local roads – perhaps of 25 km/h. I also tried to amend the 2010 Act when it was going through to try to get an additional lower speed limit.

This is a hugely important development and I welcome the fact the Minister is not opposing the Bill. I understand it will amend the Road Traffic Act 2004 by inserting a new subsection calling for the new residential speed limit to be set at 20 km/h for mechanically propelled vehicles. It also calls for the deletion of section 9(2) of the 2004 Act so, effectively, it is adding a seventh speed limit of 20 km/h in residential areas or in housing estates.

I was honoured earlier today to meet Ms Roseann Brennan and to hear from her family and friends of her strong campaign to create some memorial following the horrendous tragedy which has befallen her family with the death of six year old Jake in Lintown Grove in Kilkenny last year by asking this House to finally take decisive action in this matter and bring in this new speed limit. As our Sinn Féin colleagues have said, it is poignant to remember the shock, grief and pain that Roseann, her partner and family have suffered, including the impact on the child's brother in the period of time since the tragedy.

Unfortunately, Jake has not been the only young child to lose his life on roads. Residential areas and housing estates should be safe places where children can play, cycle, chase each other, play hurling, play football or whatever, as lively active children.

They are taught about road safety in schools and we, as drivers as well as pedestrians, have an important duty to protect them. Like other Deputies, yesterday I received the RSA 2014 report and updates. I am appalled to see that there has been a 24% increase in the number of casualties involving vulnerable road users. Among the 197 lives lost last year are 42 pedestrians, 13 cyclists and 14 children under the age of 15. Three times as many children under 15 died in 2014 as in 2013. This is happening on the Minister's watch. He is the person on the bridge right now and he has the opportunity to do something decisive to address this.

During parliamentary questions relating to transport I asked the Minister to look at Vision Zero, the Swedish road safety plan, which has been operating for nearly two and a half decades and which has, through some of its initiatives, especially regarding speed limits in housing estates, decisively reduced the number of casualties, particularly among children. Vision Zero works on the principle that cars should not interact with pedestrians when they are moving at more than 18 mph. It is not feasible, as is the case in a residential estate, for a car to be doing more than 18 mph, it is a little more in kilometres. That has been their conclusion after an intensive campaign. The Dutch have also had their "home zone" proposal.

We need to see the Minister utilise the legislation in a proactive way, as Deputy Mary Lou McDonald has said, process it quickly through this House, progress it and get the city and county councils around the country to implement it in an urgent, systematic way, so that when we leave a local main road we know we are going into a housing estate, we are in with households and with children and we behave differently. That is now the Minister's responsibility. I commend our Sinn Féin colleagues and Roseann Brennan for her incredible, indefatigable campaign to make this the law.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Frank Feighan)

I call on the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe. I understand he is sharing his time with Deputies John Paul Phelan, Kieran O'Donnell, and Eamonn Maloney. Is that correct?

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Paschal Donohoe)

That is correct. I begin my contribution by doing what many other Deputies have done this evening, acknowledging everything the Jake's Legacy campaign has done, the amazing energy, commitment and bravery it has brought to bear on a very important issue. I have met Roseann and her family on five separate occasions. It was one of the first groups I met after my appointment as Minister and I am in awe of the fact that the tragedy that family went through has been a catalyst for a campaign, as opposed to just a cause for deep sorrow and reflection. It has been an honour for me to meet them. In my efforts as Minister, I have done my best to respond to the campaign and to see how best we can respond to the challenge it has carefully laid down to this Chamber, both within the law that is available to me and through possible changes to the law.

One feature of road safety debate and policy to date has been the desire of all Deputies to maintain this as a policy area that is above party politics, an area on which we can unite. While this does not in any way preclude difference and should never preclude debate, to date this policy area has been characterised by recognition that all politicians, of any party and of none, are doing their best to make our roads and our communities safer. While there may well be disagreement on this Bill and its consequences, we are all united by a desire to make our roads safer. As a legislator, as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and as someone with a young family, I am keenly aware of the need to make all our roads safe and I am very much aware of the challenge that exists within residential communities, within housing estates and on residential roads.

This debate takes place against the backdrop of a reduction in the last ten years of the number of fatalities on our roads, a drop from 376 lives lost on our roads to 162. That is still far too many lives. A variety of factors have contributed to this improvement, including new and more realistic speed limits, the implementation of better maintenance standards through NCTs, and tougher laws on drink-driving and mandatory alcohol-testing. Since 2002, we have also seen the introduction of a new penalty points system, which, despite difficulties, has made a difference, has been a deterrent and has played an educational role in making our roads safer. The creation of the Road Safety Authority has also made a big difference. It is an independent body that delivers joined-up thinking across a range of areas, from vehicle standards to driver training and testing to road safety legislation.

As Deputy Colreavy outlined, road safety is fundamentally a matter of attitude and awareness of the responsibility people take when behind the wheel of a car. It is something that can never be achieved fully through legislation or enforcement alone. It is delivered via shared responsibility. In order for safety to increase, it is essential that drivers accept and act on the need to behave in a safe manner. We have seen change in that area, for example, in regard to drink-driving, as was touched on by other Deputies.

As Deputy Broughan has outlined, in 2013 the number of road deaths increased to 189 and last year they increased to 197. While there are a variety of factors behind this increase, there are many areas of behaviour and of change that we must address. We must remain vigilant in order to get back to the decreases we have seen in previous years. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald made the point that there is no mere statistic here. There are families, there are absences around the dinner table, absences when homework is being done and meals are being had. For every digit, there is a family and a community that have had the wrecking ball of either serious injury or loss of life pass through their lives and homes. The Brennan family and all their supporters whom I have met have used this in an extraordinary way as the cornerstone of a campaign to make our roads, particularly those in residential communities, safer. Along with everybody else, I wish to recognise that in my contribution.

I have met the Jake's Legacy family and campaign on five occasions and had the opportunity to engage with them this morning when walking into the Dáil. I have made changes and introduced initiatives in response to dealing with them. All Deputies have acknowledged this, while expressing genuine concerns regarding their effect or adequacy, which is their prerogative. On foot of some of the meetings I had with the family, I announced on 4 February the allocation of an additional €2 million to support local authorities in delivering lower speed limits in residential communities.

One consequence of this has been the design of a new sign, which will be funded by the Department as a means of raising awareness among drivers of their responsibilities in highly populated residential communities. I took this initiative in direct response to the manner in which Roseann Brennan and her family campaigned and led on this issue.

Furthermore, in October 2014, in other words, before I announced the funding of €2 million, I issued to local authorities a circular on the control of vehicle speeds in housing estates. The purpose of the circular was to advise local authorities of the results of a recent survey which was done on foot of a meeting I held with members of the Jake's Legacy campaign last summer. The circular also reiterated existing policy on traffic calming procedures and requested local authorities to undertake a review process of speed limits in housing estates. All local authorities have since responded and I am collating their responses as I deliberate on how best to spend the €2 million I have provided for making residential estates safer.

Guidance documents issued by my Department provide a policy framework for public roads under the responsibility of local authorities in respect of the design of new estates and revamping of existing estates. The 2010 guidelines give particular guidance on 30 km/h speed limits. The purpose of this approach is to create a framework to guide local authorities in assessing what actions can best deliver safer communities and improvements in residential areas. The overriding objective is to reduce vehicle speeds on all roads, with a particular focus on housing estates, so as to improve safety for all.

Deputy McDonald and her Sinn Féin colleagues briefed the House on the Bill, which builds on the Road Traffic Act 2004. Sections 4 to 10, inclusive, of the 2004 Act define particular types of speed limit. The Bill proposes the insertion of a new subsection (1A) in section 7 of the 2004 Act. This would define a new kind of speed limit, to be known as a "residential road speed limit", which would be 20 km/h for all mechanically propelled vehicles. The proposed amendment would add the option of a special speed limit of 20 km/h, under section 9(2), which would be applied only on roads within areas defined in by-laws as residential areas or housing estates but not covered by the provisions of the new section 7(1A).

Deputy Broughan referred to the policy on what are known as home zones. I acknowledge the work the Deputy has done on road safety. A review of speed limits produced detailed proposals on the introduction of home zones. It provided for an option of introducing a 20 km/h speed limit in home zone areas. It should be noted, however, that the home zone concept is different from the proposal made in the Bill, which provides for the introduction of a mandatory 20 km/h speed limit in housing estates and residential zones. I will not do the House a disservice by claiming that home zones, which I would like to progress, are the same as the speed limits proposed in the Sinn Féin Bill. Having considered the proposals in the Bill, I do not disagree in principle with the creation of a 20 km/h limit for residential areas. However, the proposal to make the speed limit mandatory and have it imposed centrally creates a challenge. I will engage with the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications on this matter.

Deputy Stanley noted some of the challenges presented by the Bill when he referred to the problems created by blanket speed limits. He stated, for example, that speed limits must fit the road and argued that local authorities and councillors are best placed to define what are residential areas. This is the challenge I would face were I to choose to implement a mandatory 20 km/h speed limit. I will give an example of the difficulty that arises in designating a residential road. Many roads in this city and other cities which have homes located on them are also main routes for traffic, including at, but not limited to, rush hour commuting times. Examples with which I am familiar include James's Street and Church Street in Dublin, both of which are major thoroughfares that traverse residential communities. The challenge I and my officials face in responding to the proposal to roll out a mandatory lower speed limit of 20 km/h is to recognise and define the wide variety of road types, including many which traverse housing estates and residential areas. My officials and I wrestled with this issue until late this evening as we sought to understand the challenge of creating a definition of a residential road and a road in a housing estate. For these reasons, I am inclined to the view that it would be more appropriate to allow local authorities to make decisions in this matter, rather than rolling out a mandatory new speed limit. A pilot scheme for the 20 km/h speed limit, based on the home zone concept, should be carried out this year.

I was challenged to respond quickly to this issue. I emphasise that I have great sympathy for the thrust of the Bill and have engaged repeatedly with the Brennan family and its supporters on how to respond to the issue. The heads of a new road traffic Bill have been circulated to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications. I will provide for an option of a lower speed limit of 20 km/h in the Bill, which is a clear mechanism for acting in a prompt fashion.

I represent an area with many residential communities. I have observed the Brennan family's response to an unimaginable tragedy, which has been to mount a campaign characterised by great honour and effort. I have given a commitment to introduce a 20 km/h speed limit in the manner I have described. It will be done through legislation or more promptly if possible. I also intend to recognise the role of local authorities in this matter. This is the best response we can make to the need to make all roads, specifically those in residential areas, as safe as possible. I assure the House that I will give this matter my full attention in the joint committee. I have spoken in detail about the challenges presented by the need to produce definitions and the possibility of mandating the roll-out of the Sinn Féin proposal to all roads in residential communities, regardless of their different features. I again acknowledge the work done by the Jake's Legacy campaign and Roseann Brennan.

Deputy John Paul Phelan

Like previous speakers, I commend Deputy Ellis and other members of his party who have brought forward this legislation for discussion. Many Members have had the opportunity over the past few days to meet members of the late Jake Brennan's family, his neighbours and friends. Being from Kilkenny, I can attest to the fact that many people are involved in the Jake's Legacy campaign. In the depths of what was a dreadful tragedy for them, I commend them on mounting such a campaign to highlight this issue and to have brought it to the point in the House where the Minister has indicated that the law will be amended to accommodate what is proposed in the Bill. That is a tribute to them. They would prefer not to have been in Dublin on a vigil over the past two or three nights and to have been at home but, unfortunately, the tragedy visited on them a little less than 12 months ago meant they took up this challenge to remember their little boy who lost his life in such tragic circumstances.

I have been present for most of the previous contributions but Deputy Colreavy's was the most striking. He referred to the necessity for a change in mindset. Many aspects of Irish life have changed beyond recognition even over the past ten to 12 years because the way people view them has changed. Whether it was the smoking ban or the ban on plastic bags, which are relatively minor issues in comparison to this, people changed the way they lived their lives and the way they acted. Driving a car is probably one of the most dangerous activities we engage in on a daily basis and it is right and proper that we should think from time to time about the potential consequences of a failure to do so properly. The Minister outlined the reductions in serious injury and fatalities over the past few years but a further change in mindset is needed.

I would like to address a number of issues in the context of this legislation. When I was a member of the local authority in Kilkenny, I found that the method of changing speed limits was cumbersome. I left the local authority in 2003 following the abolition of the dual mandate. During my four years on the local authority between 1999 and 2003, I found that necessary changes that local representatives and communities wanted were enacted with great difficulty, although I acknowledge the method changed in the 2004 legislation.

There is an overlap in responsibility for the issue of planning between the Minister and his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. However, speed limits and speed ramps should be installed as a matter of routine as part of the planning conditions for new housing estates from now on. There is also the issue of retrofitting existing estates and the Minister has gone some of the way towards addressing this. I recall the first time I canvassed the Lintown area of Kilkenny city. It is on the Johnswell Road which has expanded the most in population terms over the past 15 years in the city. There were many new housing developments in the area and many similar developments were built around the country. More funding is required to ensure estates that have sprung up over the past 15 years are subject to speed limits and have speed ramps installed on them. I accept the Minister's point that not all residential areas are the same. Some residential thoroughfares carry more traffic than others, some are broad and wide while others are narrow and some have parking while others do not. They cannot be treated the same way but there is a compelling argument to treat housing developments differently.

As Deputy Colreavy said, this legislation is about changing people's attitudes to road safety, speeding and the dangers of driving a car. Anything that does that should be greatly welcomed. I commend the legislation and I particularly commend Jake Brennan's family.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell

I am glad to contribute to the debate and I commend Deputy Ellis for introducing the legislation. I met Roseann Brennan for the first time earlier. I commend the fantastic work she has done and, like everyone else, I would like to express my sympathy on the loss of Jake. As a parent, I can think of nothing worse. I have spoken at length to the Minister about this issue previously in the context of my constituency of Limerick city. Traffic calming on estates is one of the top issues among parents, particularly those who have young children. I welcome the fact that the Minister has committed to introducing the 20 km/h speed limit in the upcoming road traffic Bill but I would like to outline a number of practical measures that should accompany that.

The guidelines that were published in 2010 need to be updated. There needs to be absolute consistency among local authorities. Deputy John Paul Phelan proposed that new planning permissions for estates should include traffic calming speed ramps. Many local authorities provide for them now but there may be differences between planners. There has to be absolute consistency and traffic calming measures should be provided when granting planning permission for all new estates. The reduction in the speed limit to 20 km/h must be accompanied by other measures. Speed ramps are a crude device but they are effective. The Minister made reference to signs, which are also important. In addition, there must be enforcement. If reduced speed limits are adopted, the Garda must enforce them. Its role needs to be examined to ensure this speed limit is observed.

We are seeking something positive to emerge from a tragedy. These changes should be part of an ongoing programme and funding should be embedded in the Department's budget such that every year, funding will be allocated to local authorities to adopt traffic calming measures on older and legacy estates. Over time, all estates should have appropriate traffic calming measures. I have spoken to engineers and other local authority staff in Limerick. Many of them would like to provide these measures on estates but, in many cases, lack of funding prevents them from doing so. That needs to be addressed.

I welcome the Minister's reference to a pilot scheme. The devil is often in the detail and perhaps the scheme could be run in Kilkenny where Jake was from, following discussions with Roseann, her family and others involved in the campaign. Practical experience is important but, as a Deputy and as a parent, I believe she has highlighted one of the top issues in the constituency I represent, particularly for parents. I echo the sentiments of other Members. Many people come to my clinics seeking traffic calming measures such as ramps on their estates but the funding is not available. A sum of €2 million will be set aside but it should be an ongoing allocation embedded in the transport budget on an annual basis.

I welcome the fact the Minister is looking at the traffic Bill due to be published shortly in regard to putting a 20 km limit in place and call for the guidelines for local authorities to be updated so that we will have consistency in regard to how each local authority applies them. I ask for the pilot scheme to be up and running as quickly as possible. In the circumstances, Kilkenny is the ideal location for the pilot as a legacy for Roseann and Jake. It would be a good place to see how the scheme would operate and to learn from it.

I would like to see practical measures taken. Ramps and signs are effective in estates, but we must also have enforcement of the regulations. Speed limits must be reduced to 20 km, physical structures - speed ramps and signs - must be provided in estates to slow people down and there must be enforcement. These three measures go hand in hand. We must also embed a provision in the transport budget each year for traffic calming measures for residential estates. Over time, all existing estates should put these measures in place to make estates safer for children. We need a change in mindset, but we must also have physical measures in place to ensure change happens.

I commend this Bill and commend Roseann and her family on the progress made on this issue.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Frank Feighan)

I understand Deputy Timmy Dooley is sharing his time with Deputy John McGuinness. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

I am sharing my time with Deputy McGuinness who is from Kilkenny and knows Roseann and her family.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this Bill and compliment Deputy Ellis on providing this opportunity in the House. Fianna Fáil supports the Bill and I am pleased the House is in agreement on this important proposal on road safety. Debate earlier today and on most days features rancour between parties on issues on which we have significant differences. I expect the fact we are all in agreement on this issue will reduce the level of publicity the issue might otherwise get, but it is appropriate we maintain this level of coherence when trying to find a resolution to death and injury on our roads. Road safety is an issue that has bedevilled society for decades, but significant progress has been made in the past ten to 15 years in terms of policies advanced, laws put in place and the results achieved. This is welcome.

A huge debt of gratitude is owed to the family of Jake Brennan, to Roseann, her wider family and the support group around her. As others have said, the pain and suffering associated with the loss of any close family member, particularly a child, in such tragic circumstances is beyond imagination. The selfless approach taken by Roseann and her family in response to their grief by attempting to put in place a legacy attaching to Jake will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the lives of countless families for generations to come. We owe it to her and her family and to the support group around her to find whatever solution we can to resolve this difficult issue.

This issue is multifaceted. It is not just about the reduction of the speed limit, the publicity around today or just about educating drivers. It is all of that and more. It is about investing in detection, surveillance and in ensuring that people are reminded on a continual basis of the impact of inappropriate speed, particularly in densely populated areas where children are at play. Like Deputy O'Donnell and others, I represent a constituency that is populated with many new estates. These estates have a mixture of residents, from those who are renting to those who own and occupy their own homes. Often side by side with these are young people who are living away from home for the first time. They have access to vehicles, and may be somewhat careless as they are not conscious of the fact that they are living in an environment where young children are going out to play. Dealing with this issue involves education and highlighting of the dangers associated with driving a little above the normal speed in these built up areas.

Notwithstanding the setting of speed limits to a lower level and the putting in place of appropriate enforcement, I have always believed that because of the huge number of such estates in densely populated areas, it is extremely difficult to enforce the regulations to the greatest extent possible. Therefore, more should be done in terms of planning laws. I am aware there are some good guidelines and that some of our newer estates have meandering roads aimed at reducing travelling speed on those roads. I was impressed by something I saw recently in the United Kingdom. There, in addition to speed bumps, they build up kerbs and create pinch points in densely populated areas where children play. This provides an effective way to reduce travelling speed. The higher kerb and the narrowing of the road are effective because if the driver does not slow down or moves off course, he will do significant damage to the side of his car. I believe that knowing this is as effective is having a speed limit and the potential threat of being caught for speeding.

We must consider a cumulative approach to this issue. We could create pinch points like this at the entrance to and at various points in estates, particularly large estates, so that we force people to face this pinch point or hazard and so that the penalty for failing to reduce speed is immediate, namely damage to people's cars. This may seem obvious, but it was something I had not observed previously and think is a good idea. This is a fantastic and helpful Bill and we must find a way to enact it. At the same time, we need to continue to do more. In doing more, we will be honouring Jake and creating a legacy for him. As a Legislature, we will be providing the appropriate response to his family.

The Minister spoke about the importance of interaction with local authorities. Perhaps all parties are guilty of running down good ideas. If somebody comes up with a good idea at local level, other parties go against it because it did not come from them. I hope this attitude is put to one side on this issue and that we come up with an appropriate and co-operative response to find the way to achieve results at local level. This will cost money, but that money should be provided. It should be a requirement of all new developments - something that should be easy now that few new developments are being built - to have in place effective traffic calming measures. We cannot be satisfied with just a winding road that some traffic planners say reduces effective speed. I have seen people test those roads, which gives me little confidence that they force drivers to drive at a safe limit or that they ensure a safe environment for children to play in.

I am delighted the Minister is taking a balanced approach and accepting the views of all sides of the House in an attempt to reduce the number of deaths on our roads. I also commend the involvement of Rita Malone, from Clonlara in my constituency, whose son Oran, aged eight, was seriously injured last September in an accident, but who thankfully survived. Many other families are affected by this issue and a number of them have come together as we have seen.

Fair play to the Brennans for highlighting this issue and for sleeping outside Dáil Éireann in the cold weather. It is that kind of tenacity and courage that gives us the impetus to do what is right and hopefully we can pass this Bill.

Deputy John McGuinness

I thank Deputies Ellis and McDonald for bringing forward this Bill and for the help and support they have given the Brennan family since this became an issue and in particular, over the last few days as they highlighted the issue outside Leinster House. That shows the lengths people must go to in order to highlight an issue that has arisen in different housing estates in this country which has led to death and injury but to which we have failed to generate a proactive response. I appreciate the cross-party support for this Bill.

The estate in question is in my own parish and is within yards of my constituency office. I attended Jake's funeral and again I extend my sympathy to the Brennan family. I must say it was the greatest outpouring of grief and sadness that I have ever witnessed. To lose a child of that age in such circumstances was both shocking and traumatic for that family. Great credit is due to Roseann Brennan and all of those who support her. The way in which she has gathered the strength and courage to go out and highlight this issue, not just for herself and the Lintown estate, but for all of the other housing estates throughout the country, is remarkable. I have stood back in admiration as I watched her make her case. There were no boundaries; she went directly to the Minister, the Taoiseach, councillors and Deputies. She has given radio interviews that a professional would not give. She has done it all out of passion for a resolution to the issue that saw her son killed. I know that Jake will never be forgotten and I hope that any Bill that comes forward will be described as Jake's law, given the fact that Jake's mother has campaigned so hard for this legislation. The work she has done must be recognised.

Lintown is an estate that is replicated all over the country. It is one of those sprawling estates that was built over a number of years during the boom. If the planning regulations had been adhered to, it would have had traffic ramps. If issues like that were addressed at the time of planning, speed ramps would have been in place. It is extraordinary to think that Jake's death and other similar deaths and injuries in housing estates could have been prevented, if speed ramps were in place and funding was provided to local authorities to make that happen. While we are preparing legislation here, there is nothing to stop local authorities from agreeing to provide speed ramps.

I respect the Minister's interest in this and believe he is sincere about it and I am pleased that the Government has agreed to accept this Bill. However, there is an urgency about this because the Lintown estate does not have speed ramps or other traffic calming measures and the same is true of many other estates. In that context, councils need funding and they also need the process involved in reaching an agreement on speed limits to be simplified. There is too much bureaucracy involved in that process. There is no body better than a local authority to decide on the appropriate speed limits in its own area. However, the process that has to be gone through to achieve that is lengthy. In most cases, the demand to achieve it is urgent and is deemed to be thus by those living in these housing estates. People in these communities know what they want.

My own son, Andrew McGuinness, is a member of Kilkenny County Council and has brought forward his plans for the Lintown and other estates. He has cross-party support for those plans. The next question is, "Where is the funding?". It is not just Lintown, but many other estates. As I said, Lintown is similar to many other estates throughout the country and they all have the same problem. All are agreed that speed ramps will help but there is no money available. I do not see enough speed by the local authorities in the process of providing these ramps. They should be encouraged, if not forced, to do it far quicker.

The question is, "Was Jake's life not enough?". We have constantly to ask ourselves that question. As we deal with this legislation and whatever else is needed - through local authorities, Government funding, An Garda Síochána and so forth - we must ensure that it goes beyond this debate and that there is constant engagement in terms of developing ideas that will prevent young lives from being taken. I know that Roseann will say that the child did not just run out on the road. The child was actually being cared for and the parents were being very careful. It happened in a split second and the child was killed. He died in his mother's arms, with tyre marks across his body. That may be graphic but we need to understand that it goes beyond this debate this evening. This must be highlighted this evening and thereafter, we must demand action on it.

I urge the Minister to write to every county council chairman and every mayor and point out to them that this Bill is going through this House and in the meantime, they could do the various things that need to be done. He should not just inform the executive, but also the mayors or chairmen. Roseann Brennan, her family and her supporters have done this State a great service out of trauma and sadness at the death of their child. Jake's death should be the end. We should give a really positive response, including the provision of funding to empower the councils to deliver for the Brennans in particular, who were brave enough to see this through and for other families all over the country.

Deputy Joan Collins

I wish to acknowledge the tenacity of Jake's family and their commitment to their son and to the sons and daughters of other families throughout the country. The Brennans have fought to have a law introduced which will impose a mandatory speed limit of 20 km/h in housing estates and residential areas, which I support. The Minister has asked questions around the introduction of such a limit. At present the limit is 30 km/h and we could change that tonight but the issue is more complex. It is about local authorities, the way people think, driver attitudes and so forth.

I know of a number of examples of residents in particular areas seeking 'Children at Play' signs and speed ramps. An advisory group visited the area, measured the number of cars passing through at certain times and their speeds and so forth and then the requests were turned down. In some instances, residents have tried to raise funds themselves to put up 'Children at Play' signs. If we are serious about this legislation, we will have to provide money to the local authorities. That is crucial.

Everybody knows what needs to be done but the question is how we keep it going forward. In the four or five months leading up to the anniversary of Jake's death the Minister should discuss with his family and those who proposed the legislation how it can be implemented in the initial stages. There can be a constant review in the transport committee if the family deem it necessary. They are anxious that it is introduced if it is agreed tonight.

The estate of Meakstown, Finglas, has a very good design as it cuts out road rage from speeding cars. People are conscious of turning corners and that helps to reduce speed. This is important item of legislation and it can be effective. Many parts of Dublin are designated 30 km/h speed limits. Areas of Dublin city, such as Marino, Phibsborough, Ballsbridge, Abbey Street and the city centre, are designated as 30 km/m speed limits. We can do it if local authorities are willing. We did it in 2009 along the quays in Dublin city and that is what we must move towards.

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan

Is mór an trua é go bhfuil gá leis an díospóireacht seo atá ar siúl againn anocht agus a bheidh ar siúl oíche amárach. Baineann sé le hócáid bhrónach. Chaill buachaill beag, Jake, a shaol.

It is a very sad occasion that we have a little boy, Jake, who lost his life. He is gone from his loved ones, his family, his school, his friends and his community. He and his family are deprived of all they should have been looking forward to. I acknowledge the work of Deputies McDonald and Ellis and the role of the Minister in not opposing the legislation. It is a small consolation but the real consolation will be to other parents who do not have to suffer a similar loss and are spared the sadness and grief.

What is proposed is sensible and practical. Part of it is about standardised speed limits for vehicles in housing estates where children are likely to be playing. It highlights the need for marked speed limits on housing estates to reduce the speed at which drivers drive in residential areas. It is also about parents being confident enough to allow their children to play on the streets. Those of us above a certain age know what it was like to play in the streets when it was safe to do so. It was a time when there were fewer cars but there are health benefits when children go out to play safely as opposed to sitting inside playing on various technological gadgets.

Speed ramps are effective in slowing down cars so I was surprised to see a departmental survey that only 14% of the 8,000 housing estates surveyed had speed ramps. This is a point for future developers. We know there will be more housing built and this must be part of the brief. Where I live in East Wall, it was a rat run and there is no doubt the speed ramps have been somewhat successful in slowing down drivers. Visual signage is important, as are speed signs and signs referring to children at play. It is all about raising awareness and local safety education in schools. Some second level schools include it as part of the transition year module. Driving lessons should be about more than passing the driving test and should be about safety, safer driving and awareness of pedestrians, particularly children.

The Minister referred to certain roads that may prove problematic when it comes to definitions because they are main arteries. We can think of many more examples but a start can be made on housing estates. All the signs, rules and regulations are not worth anything unless they are enforced and there is a change in driving culture. The key phrase for all of us is "Slow down".

Debate adjourned.