Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018
37. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the engagement he has had with the Minister for Justice and Equality regarding increases in resources for the Garda traffic corps, in particular increases in personnel; the plans to increase personnel and resources for the traffic corps for budget 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25537/18]
View answerResourcing for An Garda Síochána falls within the area of responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, and resourcing of the roads policing unit within An Garda Síochána is a matter for the acting Garda Commissioner.
The issue of resourcing the roads policing unit, along with targeted visible enforcement of road traffic law by An Garda Síochána, was identified as a priority in the mid-term review of the road safety strategy, which I approved last year. The review, which is available on the Road Safety Authority's website, also focuses on enhancing interventions to address the main killer behaviours on Irish roads - speeding, drink-driving, using a mobile telephone and not wearing a seat belt - with stricter penalties for non-compliance.
Enforcement of road traffic law by An Garda Síochána is discussed at every meeting of the ministerial committee on road safety. At the most recent ministerial committee meeting on 2 May 2018, the Minister for Justice and Equality, as he was unavailable to attend, was represented by an official from his Department. The Garda was represented by the relevant assistant commissioner. The meeting was informed by An Garda Síochána that 70 new members were assigned to roads policing by the end of the first quarter of 2018 and an additional 80 new members will be assigned to roads policing by the end of the third quarter of 2018.
The Garda also informed the meeting that a competition is to commence later in 2018 to select additional members to be assigned to roads policing in 2019, with the objective of adding a further 100 members by the end of 2019. I was directly assured that just under 1,000 gardaí will be assigned to roads policing by 2020, to meet the target set last year in the mid-term review of the road safety strategy.
There is little doubt that high-visibility Garda roads policing and enforcement influence driver behaviour and are key components in reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries on our roads.
I am confident that this increase in resources, together with implementation of the other key interventions identified in the mid-term review of the road safety strategy, will have an impact on further reducing deaths and injuries on our roads over the coming years.
According to a reply I received to a parliamentary question which I put to the Minister for Justice and Equality last month, the figure for the Garda traffic corps at the end of February was 635 members. That is just over half what the figure was ten years ago, when there were 1,200 members of the traffic corps. In 2016, the number was 681. The Minister said in his response that he was directly assured of increases in resources. The reason I tabled this question is that I recall the Minister telling a transport committee meeting last September that he had been directly assured last year of a 10% increase in the traffic corps between September and December. That never materialised. We did not get one extra. The Minister has asked how many members have begun to work there but what pressure has he put on the Minister for Justice and Equality? The Minister for Justice and Equality told the Minister last year that there would be a 10% increase but he did not deliver on that. In fact, he reneged on it. What pressure is the Minister, Deputy Ross, applying? He can introduce road traffic legislation every day but if the numbers are not in place to enforce it, it is not worth the paper on which it is written.
The Deputy is right in the sense that the traffic corps has been depleted and has been too low. As a result, it has not been up to the efficiency we sought in apprehending people for committing the offences to which I referred, such as speeding, drink-driving, using mobile telephones and driving without safety belts. The Deputy is also correct that the number fell back to a level which would now be considered unacceptable. I will return to the figures momentarily but I wish to reassure the Deputy that this is the primary issue and one of the reasons we hold quarterly meetings of the ministerial group on road safety, which has representatives of all the key stakeholders of the Garda, the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, my Department, the Department of Justice and Equality and everybody else who is relevant. The first question asked is not just about the road death figures but also about the figures for enforcement. The Deputy is correct that the number fell behind but according to the figures I have it is now catching up. It will have fully caught up by the end of the year.
Sometimes I despair at the Minister's responses. He is living in fantasy land. I have given figures which prove that the number is just over half what it was ten years ago. The Minister has introduced two road traffic Bills and my party has supported both. However, on each occasion I raised the need for an increase in the Garda traffic corps. Each time the Minister was asked about it he came out with the same spiel. Is the Minister for Justice and Equality making a fool of the Minister? He is giving the Minister these commitments but he is not following through on them. The Minister, Deputy Ross, is introducing road traffic legislation that is not worth the paper it is written on if there is no enforcement. How seriously is the Minister, Deputy Ross, being taken at the ministerial and Cabinet meetings? How is it that the Garda traffic corps, and we are sick of being told the economy is in recovery, is half of what it was ten years ago?
I will give the Deputy some figures. I do not dispute much of what she is saying about ten years ago. Neither she nor I was around then, and she cannot really blame me for that.
The Minister has been around for 30 years.
The RSA's road safety strategy lists a target of 990 roads policing gardaí by 2020. I was assured at the ministerial committee a few weeks ago that this will be achieved.
The Minister was assured of that last September. That is my point.
I was further advised on 2 May 2018-----
The Minister was assured of that last September and nothing happened.
-----that 70 new members were assigned to roads policing by the end of the first quarter of 2018 and an additional 80 new members will be assigned to roads policing by the end of the third quarter of 2018. A competition is to commence later in 2018 to select additional members to be assigned to roads policing in 2019 with the objective of securing an additional 100 members by the end of 2019. I accept what the Deputy says about the inadequacies of the past but she must accept the figures for the present.
They are less than what they were 12 months ago.
I call Deputy Brendan Ryan for the next question.
They are less than what they were 12 months ago and the Minister is saying he has received assurances. Are they the same assurances he got last September?
You have had your second supplementary question. The next question is in the name of Deputy Brendan Ryan.
The Minister for Justice and Equality is making an eejit of the Minister. They are the same assurances that were not delivered upon.
I call Deputy Brendan Ryan.
