Road Safety Authority and drink driving
Deputy Martin asks whether Fine Gael supports abolishing the Road Safety Authority and reversing drink-driving legislation; the Taoiseach rejects both proposals and defends road-safety measures.
With regard to the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, will the Taoiseach confirm the views of the Fine Gael candidate in Wexford, Ms Verona Murphy, that the Road Safety Authority should be abolished, notwithstanding the incredible work the authority has done in saving lives and reducing injuries on our roads? There is no doubt that Fine Gael is a safe house for right-wing politics. Is Fine Gael proposing the abolition of the Road Safety Authority and does the Taoiseach agree with that? Also, will there be a reversal of the drink driving laws the Government introduced?
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The Fine Gael candidate is openly saying that they have decimated rural Ireland, and apparently-----
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-----the enforcement is always on Irish individuals, whatever that means.
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I can assure the Deputy that we have no proposals to abolish the RSA, nor will we be repealing any of the legislation we introduced over the past seven or eight years, which has been successful in reducing the number of deaths and injuries on our roads.
On a point of information, there is a big difference between talking about the Central Bank amending its macro-prudential guidelines and creating the false impression that a Government can ensure it would happen, which is what the Deputy said. It demonstrates the extent to which Fianna Fáil's policies on housing are so bankrupt, empty, without substance and paper thin.