On International Workers' Day, I will talk about speed limits. I will give a few figures because I like figures. There are 3.2 million vehicles in this country. There are 5,413 km of national roads; 2,696 km of national secondary roads; 13,122 km of regional roads; and 81,293 km of local roads. The Government has reduced the speed limit on local roads to 60 km/h. Some of these roads are 6 m wide. Rather than allow local authorities to reduce speed limits on roads that are unsafe or, for example, only 3 m wide, the Government implemented a blanket ban across all local roads. There are 81,293 km of road to which the 60 km/h speed limit applies. How do we break this down into brass tacks? I have worked out the average. There are 3.2 million vehicles that use local roads. Even if we reduced that by 50%, which is 1.5 million, those vehicles will use 17 extra gallons of fuel on the basis of the mileage they would do. It would be 24,000 miles in a diesel car and 17,000 in a petrol vehicle, and they would burn 17 extra gallons of fuel. At the same time, we are increasing the carbon tax. In the context of Europe, Ireland is going to have to pay fines for not meeting our carbon emissions targets. We are taxing people more by reducing the speed limits in areas where they can actually drive at decent speeds. People travelling across the country in their cars are doing so in fourth gear. I have checked the averages of all the cars across the country, and people are travelling in fourth gear along the 81,293 km of road to which I refer. These are five- and six-speed cars, and even automatic seven-speed vehicles. It is fourth or fifth gear in a seven-speed car and fourth gear in a car with a five- or six-speed gearbox. That means more fuel being burnt and more emissions, and the Government is increasing carbon tax.
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That is what I am looking at.
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It is not saving lives. The Minister is stating that putting a speed limit of 60 km/h on roads that are not safe is saving lives. Does she realise what 6 m is? It is only the distance from where I am standing to where the Tánaiste is sitting. That is the width of the roads I am talking about. The Government has imposed a blanket speed limit on local roads across the country. I ask that we reduce speed limits on roads that are unsafe and impose appropriate speed limits on roads that are safe. The Government has just done it across the board.
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I thank the Tánaiste. I am glad he said that local authorities should have had a part to play in this.
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They did not have a part to play previously. I have asked that they should make decisions on the speed limits that should apply on roads are safe and those that are not safe. Some 89% of the vehicles in this country use either petrol or diesel. How many of those over there drive petrol or diesel cars? Be honest. Some 89% of the vehicles in Ireland use either petrol or diesel, which means that 89% of those who are being overtaxed are the working people the Government talks about in the context of the minimum wage. They are already being overtaxed, but the Government is now putting another liability on them in the form of local road tax. The Government is taxing the same people it is trying to help. I am asking for common sense. Common sense means allowing local authorities to have responsibility for deciding the speed limits that should apply on local roads. This would mean that we would have a tiered system. The Road Safety Authority has to do its job, but local roads should be dealt with on the basis of local information. The Government is overtaxing people who are already on the breadline and who cannot put food on the table. I am seeking pay parity for everyone. Remember, these are working people we are talking about.
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