I raise the matter of speed limits for the purpose of getting some definite information on Government policy in relation to it. This matter has been kicked around for some time as a political device. We had the imposition of a speed limit to justify the increase in the tax on petrol, and its removal and its imposition in a matter of months. I should like to know where we stand in regard to speed limits on public highways and in built-up areas, especially housing estates, which is of greatest concern to me.
Government speakers on this subject from time to time have added confusion to uncertainty. Now we do not know where we are. The manner in which speed limits have been introduced, changed and reintroduced is a matter of gravest concern. We read in The Garda Review that it is difficult to enforce the 50 miles per hour limit. If this is the case, the law is being reduced to ridicule. If the Government considered it necessary to impose a 50 miles per hour limit, they should have given the Garda the means to enforce it.
As he files through the country in his State car, I am sure the Minister has observed how this regulation is honoured in the breach more than in its observance. He will have noticed the number of cars that pass his at high speeds, much faster than the Minister's car is travelling, and he is not bound by speed limits. He will, therefore, know that efforts to enforce this limit are ineffective because the Garda have not been given the devices with which to enforce the law in this respect.
As I said, the 50 miles per hour limit was a political device to justify the increased tax on petrol. There was the suggestion that travelling at lower speeds would conserve fuel. Added to that, they mentioned the safety factor. Now we demand to know the truth about this. We want to know what exactly is Government policy. The Minister knows that modern cars travelling at speeds less than 50 miles per hour do so only because the cars are not giving of their best and not because they wish to observe this limit, which the Garda are unable to enforce anyway. In this respect we should like to know the Minister's opinion of the editorial in The Garda Review, to which I referred, and what action he proposes to take as a result.
Also as I said earlier, my main concern is about the big housing estates and the other built-up areas. It is of vital importance that the Garda be given the mechanism to enforce the speed limit in such areas. The position in them at the moment is alarming. In my constituency the number of reported and unreported accidents in recent months speak for themselves. Most of them have occurred because of speeding. Therefore, there is a crying need for consultation between the Minister for Local Government, the Garda and the other bodies concerned.
There are two points I should like to make. First of all, I should like to know if the Government have a positive policy in relation to speed limits, if they intend changing the present speed limit and, if so, their justification for so doing.
I know there are other speakers who want to make some points but those are the points on which I would ask the Minister to give us the benefit of his views and indicate the view of the Government in relation to any change in this matter. To my mind and that of most other people the first change came as a result of a political device to try to justify the increase in the price of petrol during the fuel crisis. From statements made by some Government speakers it would appear that the imposition of the speed limit was with a view to conserving fuel rather than the safety factor. Perhaps the Minister would clarify these matters and give us some indication of what are the Government's positive views and policies in relation to speed limits as a whole.
