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TRANSPORT MINISTER SHANE Ross has said the rural TDs that opposed to his Road Traffic Amendment Bill are not representing the views of rural Ireland.
The controversial legislation that has been delayed in the Dáil for over a year passed all stages in the Dáil last Friday.
As the result was announced in the House, there was applause by members, while Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae shouted: “This is sad day for rural Ireland.”
Speaking about the legislation today at the launch of the Road Safety Authority’s latest report, Ross slammed rural TDs, such as Independent Kerry TDs Michael and Danny Healy-Rae and Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath, for filibustering the legislation.
Stricter penalties
The Road Traffic Bill will impose stricter penalties on drink drivers.
Currently, anyone with a full license caught driving with an alcohol level between 50mg and 80mg is liable to three penalty points on their license and a €200 fine.
However, the Bill will see an automatic disqualification for drivers on their first offence of driving while over the permitted 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
The Bill will also make it an offence for car owners to allow a learner drive their car unaccompanied.
Highlighting the latest RSA figures, which show that 65% of all road fatalities this year occurred on rural roads, the minister said the TDs were not speaking on behalf of rural Ireland.
“There are more rural lives lost – they are not speaking for rural Ireland at all. I would like to see them talk to the mothers, fathers, children, and grandfathers of those that lost their lives and meet them because this [Bill] is saving rural lives,” said Ross.
‘Absurd tactics’
He accused the TDs of using “absurd tactics” and called on them to reflect on their position and certainly vow to never do anything like it again.
What they did was delay life-saving legislation for six months – that is a terrible thing and a cross to bear for the rest of their lives…
What happened in the last six months is certainly some fairly unforgivable parliamentary vandalism – it is difficult to comprehend.
He said there could be no excuse for delaying legislation that could save lives.
“I don’t see any excuse for it and I really do believe those that did this should reflect on what they’ve done and make sure they never repeat it.”
When asked about the about the TDs opposition to the drink-driving legislation, Chief Garda Superintendent Finbarr Murphy said leadership across politics, the judiciary and the community would be welcome.
What we are looking at here is changing culture and we need leadership when we want to change culture, so we need leadership from politicians, from the judiciary, from the gardaí, from sporting bodies right across the country.
This is a community effort to save lives and the biggest service we can do for the community is to stand up and say this is wrong and to challenge, be it family members, club members or other people you know who are behaving wrongly and drinking and driving.
It’s time to say, ‘this isn’t good enough, stop it’, and ‘we are not going to accept it’. And that is the leadership piece that is possibly missing in certain areas that we would welcome.
The minister said he hopes the Bill will pass in the Seanad before the summer recess this week.
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Treating it as a health matter, not a criminal one, is the only way forward.
@Joe Phillips: WARNING THIS COMMENT SECTION IS UNDER SURVEILLANCE!!! ALL ANTI WAR-ON- DRUGS AND GENERAL BACON RELATED CONTENT WILL BE DELETED!!! LEGALISATION IS THE SOLUTION!!!
Seriously, grow up. Treating all drugs as though they are heroin has us where we are today: people buying cannabis from dodgy dealers in dangerous narcotics.
Cannabis is generally less harmful than alcohol. Allow it to be bought in main street shops and keep educated and wiser youth away from the sellers of deathly poisons….
@Kieran Magennis: very true. The argument that drugs must be pursued relentlessly because they are a health concern is a circular argument as most of the health issues are associated with the fact that drugs are illegal. Does anyone seriously believe that nearly one person a day would be dying from drug poisoning if drugs were legal. It is the fact they are illegal that creates by far the biggest threat to those that consume them. Make alcohol illegal and how many people would be going blind and dying from poisoning. Not a single country in the world regardless of harsh sanctions has eradicated drug use. This should be an indicator as to the total failure of the current policy. Time for change.
Why is it a criminal offense to alter your state of mind in the first place?
I mean when someone cheats on their spouse this creates tremendous psychological trauma for the whole family especially the kids – totally legal, no one makes a fuss.
Someone drops some acid with some friends while watching a sunrise – lock him up and throw away the keys.
I think there is something fundamentally wrong with the way our society thinks.
@Termaz Fx: Well said
@Termaz Fx: spot on. We have a societal fear of people getting off their heads on anything other than alcohol.
That is where a lot of the hysteria surrounding drugs and drug policy comes from.
@john doe: Stupid parallel…we know what’s in the Alcohol , we often dont know whats in the stuff we buy from some random street dealer- all kinds of mind & body destroying muck. Oh, AND many of us in society DO CARE when someone- usually a young person- ” is off his/her head” for whatever reason.
@Margate: no Margate you misunderstand.
The harms of the unknown substances are one thing (which would be minimised by legalisation) What myself and the poster above are discussing is the commonly held viewpoint that being high is somehow morally wrong.
If it is not bad for your health when done correctly, such as with a lot of psychedelic drugs, there is nothing actually bad or immoral about getting extremely high. But society in general seems to judge it as wrong…
For example, there are lots of activities which are considerably more harmful to the ones doing them and public in general than most illegal drugs, like motor racing or rock climbing, but because the practitioner does not get high from it nobody judges it as morally wrong.
@Termaz Fx: You hit the nail on the head.
Decriminalisation will never happen here, too many TD’s stuck in the 1950’s, but sure it’s grand to drink yourself into oblivion as don’t I have s couple of pubs me self.
@Brian Smith: the lads in kerry should be allowed drink and drive too. They all want to
@Brian Smith: Too many TDs are publicans. Drug use probably cuts into their margins. They’re also clueless old men largely playing to the people who go out and vote (old people)
Complete BS from our Garda again. Fake numbers from a bunch of fakes.
To really reduce the harms from drugs we need to go past decriminalisation to heavy regulation/ legalisation. This coupled with sensible education is the safest way to deal with all drugs consumed recreationally.
@john doe: hence it won’t happen here til all the FFG voters die off
Why was my comment about saying fook all to the cops bar giving your name and address until your brief arrives deleted ? That’s advise ANY solicitor in the country would give…
@John Ryan: ridiculous that that was taken down
@John Ryan: mine too… i smell bacon.
First they were deleting far right comments. Everyone was happy because they weren’t far right.
Then they started deleting comments concerned about un-vetted immigration. Everyone was happy because they didn’t want to be called racists.
Now they started deleting comments with genuine legal advise with zero hate speech.
History is doomed to repeat itself.
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