Ross speeding penalties unlikely to pass this Dáil

Tough penalties to tackle speeding are unlikely to be introduced in the lifetime of this Government.

Transport Minister Shane Ross has announced plans to overhaul the penalty points and fines system in a bid to curb excessive speeding and bring down the number of road fatalities.

Under the plans, drivers will receive different levels of fines and penalty points depending on how far over the speed limit they are.

A driver caught doing more than 30kph over the limit would face a court summons and a fine of up to €2,000. A complaints system to allow people query speeding limits will also be introduced.

Engineers in either the department or local authorities would look into such queries and would then make a determination as to whether speed limits on certain roads should be changed.

However, a spokesperson for Mr Ross doubts whether the new measures will be introduced before the next general election which is likely to be called before May.

While the legislation will be on the priority drafting list, the spokesperson said: “Time wouldn’t necessarily be anyone’s friend at the moment.”

Fianna Fáil have already said they are not in favour of the proposals in their current format.

Fianna Fáil’s transport spokesman Marc MacSharry called on Mr Ross to enforce current road traffic laws coming up with more rules and regulations.

“We’re fully in favour of trying to reduce the number of lives being lost trying to include road safety but what the minister is bringing forward isn’t really workable,” he said.

“It doesn’t take adequate cognisance of the context, for example motorways, urban areas, housing estates, villages, rural roads and the condition of roads.”