The introduction of the Government's penalty points system for driving offences, first promised five years ago, looks set to be delayed again. The Irish Times has learnt that plans by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, to phase in the system from the autumn may be stalled further.
The Department of Finance refused earlier this year to bankroll an €11 million computer system needed by the Garda to implement the new road safety scheme.
It was confirmed yesterday that contracts for the new computer system have since been signed, but that it will not be ready to roll for another year, meaning that the full penalty points system will not be in place until then.
A spokeswoman for the Minister said yesterday that it was Mr Brennan's "intention" that the system would be carried out manually from October.
She said that there was no definite start date.
But Garda sources said this timing was optimistic and suggested that the system might not be operational before the end of the year.
The penalty points system is the cornerstone of the Government's road safety strategy, aimed at reducing road deaths by as many as 80 a year. It was first promised and agreed by Cabinet in 1998.
After his appointment, Mr Brennan said that he would still introduce the system on a phased manual basis from the autumn, initially dealing with speeding offences.
A two-point penalty would be imposed on drivers caught speeding, or five points if they chose to contest the violation in court and lost. Drivers accumulating 12 points will be automatically disqualified for six months.
A Garda spokesman said yesterday that they were working with the Department of Transport on the introduction of the system. "We are working towards October," he added.
But sources pointed to the fact that the promised traffic corps which will enforce the new system would not be in place until next year.
They also questioned the plan to introduce the penalty points system manually.
A new report yesterday revealed that the level of drink-driving on Irish roads had not improved, despite the Government's plan to cut road deaths.
According to the report, around 91 per cent of blood and urine samples and 82 per cent of breath specimens analysed last year by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety were above the alcohol limit for driving.
Fine Gael and Labour yesterday accused the Government of dragging its heels on implementing strategies to improve road safety.
"The introduction of a variety of proposed measures, including a penalty points system, would have saved up to 80 lives a year, but the Government has failed to deliver on many of its proposals," Fine Gael's Mr Denis Naughten said.
Labour's Ms Joan Burton described the plan by the Minister to introduce the penalty points on a phased basis as "half-baked".