Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 September 2018
21. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department is liaising with the Law Reform Commission on the consolidation project to consolidate all road traffic Acts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37714/18]
View answerAs I informed the Deputy in my response to Question No. 574 of 23 May last, the priorities in my Department in respect of road traffic legislation have been focused on legislation which is immediately needed.
At that time I mentioned the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2017 and the Vehicle Registration Data (Automated Searching and Exchange) Bill 2018, both of which have now been passed. I also indicated that I had asked my officials to commence work on a road traffic bill to provide for graduated penalties for speeding offences, and work on this is well advanced.
Consolidation of the Road Traffic Acts will be a complex exercise and while not considered a priority project at this time, is one that would be worthwhile in the future. As I informed the Deputy in May, such a project may ultimately require an element of outsourcing, but this has yet to be fully examined.
While I agree that it will be a valuable exercise to consolidate the law in this area, I do think that sometimes the benefits of consolidation are over-stated. It will make the law easier to comprehend, at least in the short term. However - and I want to emphasise this - the absence of a consolidation has not led, to my knowledge, to a single failure of a prosecution.
