I join Deputy Ward in offering condolences following the recent incident in Dublin. I would also like to stress to the public not to be sharing incidents like this online and to allow everyone to investigate it. I thank first responders, An Garda Síochána, the ambulance service and the Order of Malta from Fairview and Marino, who I have in with me today. I thank them for all they do, for how they help the communities and how they serve the communities in these situations. Regarding road safety, every conversation has to begin with the people who are no longer with us, and those who have been injured. We have heard Deputies across the House describing how people's lives can be changed within seconds. Parents and children and the recent tragic deaths are not just numbers, they are lives. My father was a traffic policeman for over 35 years. He was one of the hardest men to ever learn how to drive with but he made sure I was doing everything correctly. I would love the current driving test to be reviewed and made more accurate to current driving conditions with the three-point turn. I do not know if the Minister of State ever reversed around a corner but I had to do it for the test and I have not done it since. We still have delays in our driving test and people failing it. I will go back to the issue of safety. The issue is personal to everyone. As other Deputies have said, gardaí are often the first on the scene as are our emergency supporters. They see the worst of road incidents and accidents, the reality of how road danger looks and why enforcement matters. I welcome the clampdown on scramblers and congratulate Deputies on the work that has been done across this House on the issue. It is sad that it took this tragic death to happen. We needed to get it done and it is being done. We have to go through it and make sure it is implemented correctly. On implementation, I have heard other Members speaking about how the Garda must have tools, the legal backing and the confidence to act. Gardaí should not be second-guessing whether doing their job will result in criticism or penalty. I know the Department of Transport is examining that. They are not the problem; they are the solution. They work tirelessly for us to make the roads safer. We need safer streets. We speak about open drug dealing on e-scooters. It needs to be targeted. Giving gardaí the authority to act decisively will also recognise that these men and women are not just public servants, they are guardians and heroes. I look up to my dad to this day. For the first responders who are at these scenes, the things they go through stick with them and it is something for which they need to be recognised. They should not be punished for doing their jobs correctly. If we are serious about road safety, we also must look into issues such as potholes. In my constituency I could provide a list of about 200 of them. We need look at the speed with which other countries deal with potholes and everything that results in safer roads. Seapark Drive needs a speed test. There are over 80 children on the road, but the speed test has still not been done. At the heart of the issue is roads. I was speaking to residents on the way down here, currently the Clontarf Road is flooded, but there has not been a direct response. Sadly, there was still traffic going straight through it, and flooding damaging houses. Thankfully we got through to Dublin Bus and the buses have stopped. However, joined-up thinking is needed when it comes to these public services and road safety. We all read the recent article about the Clontarf Road and the traffic management plan that is going to be put in place. This is going to bring more cars together and put children at risk. Public representatives were not consulted. What is the point of holding a local election and a general election if there are State bodies that are going to do what they want on our roads without consulting someone who knows where there should be more security or more traffic management? This needs to be looked into. I spoke recently about this to the Minister for Transport and how the Clontarf Road, Oscar Traynor Road and north Dublin as a whole, one of the busiest routes in Dublin, the artery of Dublin, was locked up for 18 months or longer and now people are fearful that they are going to do it again. Of course they are fearful. It is the conjunction of the entire north Dublin. The communication needs to be there. To go back to road safety, there is built-up traffic. Recently, one of the lollipop men in one of the areas was saying that traffic on the road when it is built up, leaves a spot for children that drivers cannot see and the child comes out. Traffic needs to be managed in that sense, especially around schools. I do welcome the engagement the Minister of State has had with me on this and I appreciate what he has been doing in helping me raise that, especially in north Dublin. We need to act on this quickly. These are not just statistics; they are lives. I join with all the Deputies who back the Garda and back the people who are making this country better.

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