Two men died in separate motorcycle accidents in the midlands last night.A 24-year-old man died when he collided with a car at Grange, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim. A second man died in Milltownpass, Co Westmeath, when his motorcycle collided with a tractor.
There has been renewed debate about the effectiveness of the penalty points system in recent days following the deaths of six teenagers in accidents in Wexford and Limerick in the last week.
The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, plans to make it harder to qualify for a provisional driving licence in reforms to be introduced this autumn.
Mr Brennan is putting priority on provisional and motorcycle licence reforms in an attempt to curb the high number of fatalities on the roads.
A spokesman from the Department of Transport told The Irish Times that the Minister was "reasonably close" to finalising a series of reforms to be phased in and accepted that it was currently too easy for both motorcyclists and teenagers to receive a licence.
He said the provisional licence was really only a driving permit and that no one should be allowed to drive for more than three years on a provisional licence without doing a test.
The reforms are expected to include an increase in the number of stages to go through before qualifying for a provisional licence. The Minister will also look at increasing the number of instruction hours drivers have to complete before they go for a test with qualified driving instructors.
Mr Brennan has looked at models around the world and was particularly impressed by US legislation whereby drivers must have 30 completed hours of driving instruction before a test, as well as a log book signed by their parents verifying that they have been practising with them.
"The parents could just sign the log book, but the view in the States is that it's their children's lives they're dealing with," said his spokesman.
It is also planned to raise the minimum age for getting a motorcycle licence from 16 as part of Mr Brennan's reforms. "Seventy per cent of motorcyclists are on provisional licences, which the Minister finds unacceptable," his spokesman said.
He said Mr Brennan saw the recent road deaths as a "question of enforcement" and intended to meet senior gardaí to discuss visibility and points enforcement.
"There have been 63 fewer deaths on the roads in the nine months since the introduction of the penalty points in November, compared with the previous nine months," said Mr Brennan's spokesman.
Last July there were 42 road deaths. This year's July fatalities stand at 28 so far. The number who have died on the roads this year stands at 203, down 21 on the same period last year.