Home > Dail Eireann debate. Written answer 101 - Garda operations [3388/17].

[Oireachtas] Dail Eireann debate. Written answer 101 - Garda operations [3388/17]. (25 Jan 2017)

External website: http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20a...


101. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality  the number of mandatory alcohol checkpoints that were conducted in the Garda north division between 1 December 2016 and 17 January 2017; the number of checkpoints that were carried out in each of the previous two corresponding years for the same time period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3388/17]

 

Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald):   I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am deeply conscious of the serious issue of road safety and mindful of the increase in 2016 of road traffic fatalities. I am also mindful of the traumatic impact of road traffic collisions on those directly affected and their families, as well as the impact of dangerous driving more generally on the quality of life of residents in local communities across the country.

 

The Deputy will be aware that I have no direct role in the enforcement of Road Traffic legislation, which is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner. However, I am informed by the Garda authorities that the following table shows the number of Garda Mandatory Alcohol Checkpoints recorded in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) North Garda Division for the period 1 December 2016 to 17 January 2017 and for the same period for 2015 /2016 and 2014 / 2015.

 

  Number of Garda Mandatory Alcohol Checkpoints in DMR North Garda Division for the period 1 December 2016 to 17 January 2017*

2014 / 2015

2015 / 2016

2016 / 2017

124

58

125

 

  *Figures are provisional, operational and liable to change and are valid to 23 January 2017

 

  Road safety is a shared responsibility, one which the Government takes very seriously. Ireland's current Road Safety Strategy (2013 - 2020) aims to place Ireland consistently on the list of safest countries in the EU and beyond. To achieve this, we are continuing to work together in partnership with all relevant stakeholders. I attended a meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Road Safety this month, along with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Road Safety Authority, An Garda Síochána, the Attorney General and other agencies. This Committee oversees the implementation of the Road Safety Strategy and provides a forum for high-level discussion of road safety issues. The Committee generally meets later in the year, however, in light of the 2016 increase in road fatalities, the meeting was brought forward to January. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together all stakeholders to see what immediate actions could be taken to reverse the upward trend in road fatalities. During this meeting, An Garda Síochána indicated that there will be an additional 10% increase in the traffic corps during the course of 2017, which should also lead to better outcomes in relation to road traffic enforcement. An Garda Síochána also informed the meeting that it was intended to have a stronger focus on road traffic enforcement in the training provided to new recruits at Templemore.

 

  Following this meeting, my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport announced that his Department will review Section 29 of the Road Traffic 2010 with the intention of ensuring that all drivers, if caught drink driving, will, in future, receive a mandatory disqualification.

Repository Staff Only: item control page