The Road Safety Authority's plan for 2007 to 2012 was approved by Cabinet and was launched by the Minister, other colleagues and me last week. The primary target of that strategy is to reduce road deaths to no greater than 60 fatalities per million population by the end of 2012. This would equate to an average of 21 road deaths per month or 252 per year. The average number of road deaths per month so far this year is 28. The request for tender to operate speed cameras was recently issued and six companies were shortlisted. More than 30,000 people have been tested under the mandatory alcohol testing. Overall, there is a downward trend. As has happened over the past ten years, in 1998 and 2003, we received the road safety report, and this one contains over 120 recommendations.

It was clear from the reaction of the public, and of Members of the House, that while people supported these measures, the fact that we did not allow enough time for them was considered unfair. Although the decision had the unanimous support of the RSA and others, quite correctly the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, having reflected on it for a short period, believed it was unfair for provisional driving licence holders and made his changes on that basis.

With regard to the Deputy's last question, it is challenging to try to deal with the backlog in a short period of time but at least people will be given an opportunity to regulate their position. I believe there will be a good result. Some people have driven with provisional licences for up to 20 years or so, although proportionally their number is not too high at between 20,000 and 30,000. Many others have not been taking the law seriously. Holders of first provisional licences are supposed to be accompanied by a licence holder but that rule has not been enforced. By next July, however, everybody must be on the right side of the law when the gardaí start to enforce this measure.

The backlog of approximately 130,00 should be dealt with by March and the remainder must be dealt with by the summer. To achieve this, the Minister will require additional resources, which he hopes to get from the Minister for Finance, to increase the number of driving tests in the private sector. If we can achieve that, the figures should be brought into line by summer. It will be demanding but I believe there will be a huge amount of compliance in the next number of months. People will study their DVDs and take their tests. More important, people who did not bother previously to sit the driving test will now have to do it.

It is a sensible solution rather than forcing people off the roads immediately, which would have happened had the order taken effect yesterday. The Road Safety Authority and others thought it was the right thing to do but one must take a pragmatic view and that is what the Minister has done.

Last weekend the Cabinet decided to give legal effect to this decision. However, a bright light seems to have shone on the members of the Cabinet over the weekend when they discovered the mayhem that would descend on the 120,000 holders of second provisional licences. The Taoiseach admitted today that it is not necessary for a Minister to measure up to performance targets, and that he will not dismiss the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, if he fails to reach the objectives for next March and next June. This is no different from the nursing home repayment scandal, electronic voting, PPARS, decentralisation, hospital waiting lists and a litany of other failures by Ministers. Nobody in the Government is prepared to stand up and admit that he or she was wrong and did not measure up. Of course, the Taoiseach has himself set the standards for the dismissal of a Minister, which will make it difficult for him to do it.

At what level did the Cabinet consult with the Garda about this matter? I understand from Garda spokesmen that there was no consultation with the Garda. Will the Taoiseach confirm which level of the Garda was informed by the Cabinet that this decision would be implemented this week? The Minister, Deputy Dempsey, said in his statement on Sunday that the gardaí will enforce the law and will use discretion. These are not interpreted as comments or requests but as orders. By implication, has the Minister not put the Garda in the impossible position of being seen to be a tool of Fianna Fáil in Government to cover up its incompetence? The Minister, on behalf of the Government, tells the Garda Síochána that it will enforce the legislation and will do so with discretion. The Minister has left the Garda in a position where it is seen, in some quarters, to be subservient to what the Government wants it to do instead of implementing the law.

Pragmatism came to light on Sunday, when the Government realised the consequences of an ill thought out, rushed decision and how it was to be implemented. No Member of the House wants incompetent or unqualified drivers behind the wheels of vehicles. However, the Government's rush to implement this measure in four days would have caused absolute mayhem for 120,000 drivers, given that between 40% and 60% fail the driving test. The position would have been very difficult.

Who in the Garda did the Cabinet consult? Second, does the Taoiseach not believe that the Government and a Fianna Fáil Minister have, by implication, used the Garda as a tool of Government to cover for the Government's incompetence?

No, I do not agree with any of the Deputy's points. The Road Safety Authority brought forward the comprehensive proposals, as it has done for some time. The authority is doing excellent work. The range of measures and the resources we have allocated to them, including the traffic corps, have achieved an enormous advance from the previous position, where there was carnage on the roads.

As always with these questions, there is an attempt to switch the issue. Three or four years ago I was answering questions about the carnage on the roads and what we were doing about it. Now, 30,000 mandatory alcohol tests are carried out. We are working on proposals, which involve strict legal complexities, for dealing with what happens on the roadside. I explained this issue in the House two weeks ago. We have established a dedicated traffic corps comprising 800 personnel and the Road Safety Authority was vested last year. There is a ministerial road safety committee and penalty points have been introduced and extended. All these measures have helped to deal with the issue. The Cabinet discussed the more than 126 proposals at length, both in draft and detailed form. Obviously, we do not discuss every last detail of procedure but we discussed them at length.

With regard to the Garda, the Minister was quoting on Sunday directly from what Assistant Commissioner Rock said at the press conference. It was taken from his reply. Deputy Kenny appears to have got this wrong but, in fairness, he was not at the press conference. When a question was asked at the press conference, Assistant Commissioner Rock stated that if the order was coming into force on 30 October, the gardaí would take a pragmatic view of its implementation. The Minister did not say that, so no pressure is being applied.

The Garda was consulted. Assistant Commissioner Rock was involved in the press conference and in the presentation of the report. The Garda was involved. As to whether it was discussed throughout the force, that is a matter for the Garda, although I do not believe it was.

Deputy Kenny has made a bad call. He and others have said that this will affect 120,000 people. It was not affecting 120,000 people but 430,000. When considering the order, everybody referred to 120,000 but the entire number of provisional licence holders is 430,000, ranging from first to fifth provisional licences.

Clear the backlog then.

We are clearing the backlog.

You are not.

That position could not be changed over two or three days. For that reason, more time had to be given.