The Government last night rejected claims that the EU presidency was taking up an unacceptable amount of Garda resources, after a senior garda told an Oireachtas committee investigating the increase in road deaths that traffic police had been diverted to EU presidency duties.
A Government spokeswoman said last night that it was up to the Garda Síochána to decide how to deploy its resources.
However, she said the presidency had not taken up any more Garda resources than previous presidencies, and said there were fewer EU meetings in Ireland during this presidency than in past Irish presidencies.
Deputy Commissioner Fachtna Murphy told the committee yesterday that gardaí have been moved from traffic duties to provide cover for Ireland's presidency of the European Union.
Mr Murphy acknowledged that over the last couple of months, Garda resources had been diverted away from traffic duties and assigned to EU presidential events to supply escorts to VIPs and provide traffic management cover.
"We had to deploy persons assigned for traffic to EU presidency events," Deputy Commissioner Murphy said.
The Deputy Commissioner expressed his concern about the increase in fatalities but stressed that the gardaí were fully committed to enforcement within the resources available. "I don't have the answers," he said.
Ambitious targets would not be met with existing resources and the outsourcing of speed cameras would be necessary, he added.
The impact of the EU presidency was also noted by Mr Pat Costello, chief executive of the National Safety Council, who said the presidency probably had an effect on road traffic safety.
He noted that this was at a time when road traffic fatalities are up by 30 per cent.
Mr Costello also drew attention to drug driving, which, he said, needed to be addressed. Although detection methods for alcohol were very precise, drug detection was not as easy, he said.
Criticising the implementation of the penalty points system, Labour's Ms Roisin Shortall TD said that it was not being implemented properly due to lack of resources.
She noted that driver behaviour had changed when it looked as if it was going to be implemented, but, when it was not, people reverted to their old behaviour. Human nature meant that people would not change unless there was a "reasonable chance they will get caught". That, she said, was why road fatalities were on the increase.
Responding to criticism of speed checks in 40 m.p.h. zones, Mr John Murphy, assistant secretary at the Department of Transport, said that 28 per cent of accidents occurred in urban areas. Enforcement on its own was not the answer.