In my role as Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, I again want to highlight the crisis we now have on Irish roads. Already this year, 37 lives have been lost, which is up on the previous year. Most experts agree that the biggest cause of fatalities on Irish roads is driver behaviour, and what shapes driver behaviour more than anything else is enforcement on our roads. I, like many more, was shocked, following on from the December operation by An Garda Síochána, by the operation over the past week during St. Patrick's week when 188 drivers were arrested for drunk or drug driving, 4,250 fines were issued for speeding and 450 fines were issued for either use of a mobile phone or not wearing a seat belt. We need to strengthen our roads policing unit. To what extent are we engaging with the Garda Commissioner with a view to targets for our roads policing unit this year and during the lifetime of this Government? I appeal to the Minister. Can we set a target for the lifetime of this Government to have 1,000 members in our roads policing unit, bringing us back to where we were in 2009?

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