28 Sep 2012, 11:56
The Chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications Tom Hayes TD today sent a letter to Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar TD on the Committee’s consideration of the review of the penalty points system, which recommended higher penalties for mobile phone use.
The review was conducted earlier in the year and Minister Varadkar asked the Committee to consider the proposed modifications to the system. As part of its public deliberations, the Committee met with representatives of the AA, the Road Safety Authority and the Irish Insurance Federation, at which it was unanimously agreed that the introduction and operation of the penalty points system had been a great success.
Deputy Hayes says: “The introduction of the penalty points system ten years ago made a major contribution to improving safety on Irish roads. The Minister for Transport tasked our Committee with considering carefully the recommendations of a review to the points system conducted earlier in the year. It emerged from our discussions that use of mobile phones is viewed as particularly dangerous by road users and accordingly, the Committee supports the recommended 4 penalty points for the offence.”
“The Committee took the view that the increase in penalty points for speeding was appropriate but considered that, on balance, it was best not to have graduated penalty points based on speeds in excess of the speed limit until such time as the speed limits had been reviewed. For instance, it appears that there is a default speed limit of 80km/h on many narrow, winding rural roads, which are often totally inappropriate. The Committee also believed that, in the case of less serious speeding offences, consideration might be given to lowering the lifespan of the points to two years.”
“The Members of the Committee also agreed that the single most important factor in ensuring continued driver vigilance was visible Garda enforcement. Furthermore, there was agreement with the recommendation that penalty points north and south of the border should be aligned. However, the consensus was that the penalty points system should not be used to address non road traffic issues, such as illegal dumping.
“The ultimate goal in this process was to ensure that any proposed changes bolster the fairness of the system, ensuring that each penalty is proportionate to the gravity of the offence. We thank the representatives of the AA, the Road Safety Authority and the Irish Insurance Federation for illuminating some of the issues in our discussions, which fed into our recommendations to the Minister.”
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +353 1 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
Committee Membership
Deputies
Michael Colreavy, Sinn Féin
Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil
Dessie Ellis, Sinn Féin
Terence Flanagan, Fine Gael
Tom Fleming, Independent
Noel Harrington, Fine Gael
Tom Hayes, Fine Gael (Chairman)
Colm Keaveney, Fine Gael
Seán Kenny, Labour
Mattie McGrath, Independent
Michael Moynihan, Fianna Fáil
Patrick O’Donovan, Fine Gael
John O’Mahony, Fine Gael (Vice-Chairman)
Ann Phelan, Labour
Brian Walsh, Fine Gael
Senators
Terry Brennan
Sean D. Barrett
Eamonn Coghlan
Paschal Mooney
Ned O’Sullivan
John Whelan