Greens driven to distraction by the change of direction
THE Greens last night piled further pressure on embattled Transport Minister Noel Dempsey last night when they announced they are to put their concerns over the L-driver debacle in writing.
And government backbencher Michael Mulcahy called for the whole proposal to be postponed for six months.
Fine Gael said the Government had had 10 years to implement an overhaul of the driving licence regime but had given 400,000 provisional drivers just four days -- while simultaneously refusing to bring in tougher alcohol limits for another two years.
Having warned on Wednesday that the clampdown on drivers who had not proved themselves competent in a driving test was about cutting deaths and injuries on the roads, Mr Dempsey said yesterday that the gardai would be taking a "softly, softly" approach for the rest of the year.
While he stopped short of saying provisional licence holders could break the new law with impunity, the minister said he had been assured that the gardai would be proceeding by way of caution from next week until a sufficient level of consciousness-raising had been achieved -- with February 2008 mentioned as a date for actual implementation.
FG spokesman TD Shane McEntee said of the minister's statement: "He is, in practice, encouraging drivers to break the law. He has put the gardai in an impossible position."
Mr McEntee suggested that the real reason for an initial go-soft approach was because the gardai were already hard-pressed and "stretched to the limit by enforcing existing measures."
Mr Dempsey insisted that the law would now require all holders of second provisional licences to be accompanied while driving by a full licence-holder -- but also claimed the law wouldn't be enforced.
The minister claimed there was no contradiction in his new stance, which came after unprecedented protest by commuters who have been unable to get speedy driving tests. In a lunchtime radio interview yesterday in which he appeared occasionally tongue-tied, Mr Dempsey suggested there was media "ballyragging" on this sole issue, ignoring other aspects of the new Road Safety Strategy 2007-2012.
But further pressure was piled on the minister last night as the Greens announced they were writing to him to express their concerns. Fine Gael said the State had had 10 years to implement an overhaul of the driving licence regime but had given 400,000 provisional drivers just four days.
- Senan Molony Political Correspondent
