Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

The Irish Times reports on news announced on Sunday that “Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has announced an exemption until June 2008 for 122,000 learner drivers who would otherwise have to travel accompanied at all times with a full licence holder under new regulations which were due to take effect this week.” The news was widely expected following the original announcement last week. The thing about the u-turn that I find most interesting is that it strikes a remarkable similarity to the debate about the reintroduction of university fees.

There is a growing lobby for the reintroduction of university fees in Ireland, however one of the biggest barriers to their return is the economic impact that they would have on parents who have not budgeted for them. The result would be that a high proportion of potential university students would end up missing out because of their inability to pay fees as parents would not have factored them into their long term budget. Realistically if the Government planned their reintroduction they would have to signal their intent ten - twenty years out.

The L Plates furore is like an Irish case study straight out of Freakonomics, the unseen consequences of banning learner drivers from Irish roads would have had a huge impact on the country. Here is just some of the statement’s that were issued by a variety of groups in the wake of the announcement:

Union of Students in Ireland calls on the Government to improve public transport options, new law “must be matched by new bus and train routes, increased frequency and longer hours of operation.”

Business leaders have called for the “drive-alone” ban on L-drivers to be deferred until the new year and have warned that absenteeism next week may cost them millions of euro.

Age Action warns that older people in rural areas will be further isolated because of the new clampdown on second provisional licence holders.

Yes, we live in a farcical situation where someone can fail their driving test in Ireland and then pop into their car and drive home from the test centre, but there is no overnight solution to the problem. The statements above highlight the wider impact that a ban on L-plate drivers would have. Due to years of ignoring issues such as sustainable communities, an inadequate transport system and poor driver education, we are suddenly faced with a bottleneck of problems which have been brought to the fore by the decision.

One person whose opinion on the subject I would really like to hear from is Gerard O’Neill, from Amarach Consulting. He has recently started a blog and it’s a recommended read.

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