Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 July 2017
82. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his officials have been liaising with officials in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on the number and cost of road traffic collisions involving gardaí, including those driving on chief's permission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29955/17]
View answerWhile the specific matter raised by the Deputy has not featured in recent discussions, there are a number of fora in which my Department and I liaise with officials in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on road safety matters.
I will attend the fourth Ministerial Committee on Road Safety of 2017 with Minister Ross on 24 July, along with the Road Safety Authority, An Garda Síochána, the Attorney General and other agencies. The Committee generally meets twice a the year; however, in light of the 2016 increase in road fatalities, the Committee has already met on three occasions in 2017. The purpose of these meetings is to bring together all stakeholders to see what actions can be taken to reduce the number of road fatalities and collisions, which reached a historic low in both 2012 and 2015 but which increased again last year. The Committee also provides an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss and put forward orientations, in addition to giving feedback to other stakeholders on relevant road safety issues, and to assist in refining road safety policies and programmes.
In addition, my Department jointly chairs the Criminal Justice (Fixed Charge Processing System (FCPS)) Working Group with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The Working Group is charged with overseeing and facilitating the recommendations of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate's report on ‘The Fixed Charge Processing System – A 21st Century Strategy’ (February 2014) and the multi-agency dimension of the Group provides opportunities for discussion on a wide range of issues.
As well as the Groups detailed above, my Department is represented on a number of groups on which the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is also represented such as the Cost of Insurance Working Group including its associated sub groups, the Third Payment Option Steering Group and the Mutual Recognition of Penalty Points (MRPP) Working Group.
