Deputy Mattie McGrath was in possession.
Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed)
Bill recommitted in respect of amendment No. 22.
Amendment No. 22 was moved by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport on 13 June 2018:
In page 4, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following:
"Amendment of section 41 of Road Traffic Act 1994
3. Section 41 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 is amended in subsection (1)(a)—
(a) in subparagraph (ii), by the deletion of "or",
(b) in subparagraph (iii), by the substitution of "permit, or" for "permit,", and
(c) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iii):
"(iv) is, in the opinion of a member of the Garda Síochána, the holder of a learner permit and is, in the opinion of that member, not driving in accordance with clause (iv) of Regulation 17(6)(b) of the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 537 of 2006).".".
Debate resumed on amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 22:
In the fifth line of subparagraph (iv), proposed to be inserted by section 3(c), after “No. 537 of 2006).” to insert “Provided that the provisions of this subparagraph shall not apply in circumstances where a driving test date has not been supplied to an applicant within a period of six weeks from the date of their application.".
-(Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice)
I am delighted to be back here this evening. I thank the officials and the Chair for allowing me to come back in. We have come to the Minister, Deputy Ross, numerous times on this Bill. Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom a rá, the reason we are back here is that the Bill was recommitted and the reason for that is the approach of the Minister. The Attorney General described his judicial appointments Bill as a dog's dinner and this Bill is a sow's breakfast. Normally, sows eat everything and this is a bit of everything. It is a mishmash. It is readjusted and renamed. Different amendments were tabled by the Minister himself which we were not allowed to discuss on Committee Stage. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae and I are still awaiting an apology for being described as road traffic terrorists. I am still waiting for an apology, not for me for being called a you-know-what, but for my daughter, whom the Minister knows well. He should know better than to use that kind of language in company. However, I am big enough to understand that we are not going to get that.
What we should have, at least, is some meaningful engagement from the Minister regarding what he is trying to achieve. We are all with him on many aspects of road safety. Goodness knows, we have had a terrible past week to ten days on our roads. Many of the issues the Minister is talking about here, however, were not involved at all. He has tunnel vision in the direction of soft targets when he should be dealing with a plethora of issues affecting driving conditions across all forms of transports, from sulkies, which are illegal, to bicycles, cars, vans, buses, trains, trams and taxis. The longer the Bill goes on, the more we hear. This week, the train drivers and rail worker unions have appealed for their own safety to be protected while they are at work. I condemn out of hand anyone who attacks any person on public transport. Yesterday morning, we saw people consuming excessive amounts of alcohol before boarding planes. Public servants have a tough job and they must be supported. The legislation, however, is not supportive. It is draconian, discriminatory and inherently unfair to L plate and young drivers, especially in the rural areas represented by myself, Deputy Healy-Rae and our group of Members.
There are long delays for driving tests. I have the details here. Even where one has an appointment for a test, it may be dismissed on arrival for the silliest of reasons. If one fails, there should be advisory fail matters in the way there are in the NCT process for certain mechanical defects in a vehicle. I am trying not to be repetitive. Young people have to take lessons. They have to procure a vehicle, which is an expense, and insurance costs are massive. It is obligatory to take 12 lessons, a measure which I support. Young people are now much better prepared for the driving test than I was when I took mine all those years ago. Certainly, they are more prepared than those who benefited from the amnesty when licences were given out to people without a test because the numbers were too great to deal with. The Minister will not accept amendments, but he will have to put in place some mechanism to allow people to get a test within a reasonable time, namely, within two or three weeks. In my county, there is a five-month waiting list, and if something is wrong, a person might be sent home and the test cancelled. I condemn totally those who fail to turn up for scheduled tests without notifying the test centre in advance. That is a waste of time. There is a serious problem, however, with a testing regime in which a person cannot get a test for five months, and if he or she fails for what ought to be an advisory matter, that person prohibited from reapplying for one month.
Tomorrow is the last day of the leaving certificate for most people. Many of those young people will want to get expertise and a taste of the career they might wish to pursue in college or elsewhere. They might like to get work experience. They can get it given the huge shortages of labour in the hotels sector and among contractors and farmers. How will they get to work, however? Cad a dhéanfaimid feasta gan adhmad? Tá deireadh na gcoillte ar lár. Cad a dhéanfaimid feasta gan charr? Tá daoine ag fanacht sa tír, abandoned, if they do not have a car and live in Hollyford, Carrick-on-Suir, Emly or, indeed, in the villages in the hinterland of Nenagh. They will be unable to get to work or to college without a car. They cannot walk outside as one can from Leinster House to find hundreds of taxis and dozens of buses. If a person is stuck, he or she can use his or her card to take a Dublin bike to cycle home. There is the DART to take a person out to the Minister's country in Bray. We do not have that in Tipperary. As such, the legislation is inherently unfair and it discriminates against rural dwellers and L plate drivers.
My children and those of my neighbours want to get on in life and continue their education, get a taste of work or of the careers on which they might like to embark. The Minister, however, is condemning them to a life of wastefulness. Their guardians, parents or siblings cannot leave work to be their accompanying drivers at 7 a.m. or at 10 p.m. coming home. I am all for curfews. I do not want them driving around recklessly to discos or parties. I want them to be able to get valuable work experience and to facilitate their families who are hard-pressed as it is. Many people in my county experienced savage rent increases from our reckless county council only this week. They are trying to put their kids through education to give them a good start in life. Tús maith, leath na hoibre. A good start is half the job. The Minister is not listening to any of us or to what we are saying. I am opposed fundamentally to the Minister condemning the young people of rural Ireland to a lesser ability to achieve their full potential in life.
Debate adjourned.