A graduated licensing system for learner drivers is to be introduced, Minister for Transport Martin Cullen told ardfheis delegates.
He said that this would place restrictions on the holders of provisional licences, which would be renamed learner-permits, and on those who had just passed their driving test.
"I believe strongly that we can serve the interests of road safety by making the driving licence harder to get and easier to lose. Drivers who place a high value on their licence are more likely to behave in a way which protects that licence."
Mr Cullen said the proposals followed best international practice built on years of experience. "They are tough but they are necessary in the ongoing fight against the unwarranted and tragic loss of life on our roads."
Nobody, said Mr Cullen, should be in any doubt about the Government's determination to reduce road deaths.
"We will continue to evolve the legislative and regulatory environment, introducing even tougher measures if we have to, until the message gets through: do not drink and drive. Do not speed. Follow the rules of the road."
Mr Cullen said the Government had introduced mandatory alcohol testing, dramatically expanded the penalty point regime, outsourced driving tests and established the Road Safety Authority. All those measures had been introduced to make roads safer.
Since their introduction, there had been a fall in the numbers losing their lives on the road with 69 people dying so far this year compared with 87 people in the same period last year, he said.
"Every life lost is a loss to family, friend, communities and the country. One life lost is one too many. Therefore, we will continue to implement policies with the aim of eliminating the scourge of road deaths."
The Minister said the new version of the Rules of the Road would reflect an increasingly multicultural society and would be published in five languages - English, Irish, Mandarin Chinese, Polish and Russian. Every household would receive a free copy of the book over the coming weeks.
"I encourage all road users, be they motorists, cyclists or pedestrians, to make use of this book and to refresh their knowledge of these vital and life-preserving rules and guidelines."
Mr Cullen also said he was committed to increasing air links to Ireland and this week's open skies agreement offered opportunities for airports in Dublin, Shannon and Cork and for Aer Lingus.
Aer Lingus, he said, was currently limited to serving four cities in the US - Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Chicago. "With immediate effect, our national airline will now be able to serve three additional cities in the US, San Francisco, Orlando and Washington [ Dulles], and they will have access to the entire American market once open skies starts fully in April of next year."
