Byrning Down The Roads

cork | environment | news report Tuesday March 28, 2006 19:41 by Mark C

Gay Byrne selected as Chairperson of National Road Safety

Gay Byrne, it was announced today, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Road Safety Authority. Let’s see how a cynical and ‘benefit of the doubt’ approach could work to this “news”.

The Cynical Approach

The appointment of Gay Byrne to this position is just another PR stunt by a government that has run out of (or never really had any worthwhile) ideas towards the issue of road safety. The government is simply trying to deflect the issue by hiring celebrities, another facet of washing over a problem by putting a ‘poster-boy’ face on it. He has said that he does not want members of the Garda Siochana on the chair with him, nor does he want other vested interest groups present on the board (The AA, for example) in case they would want to “paddle their canoes”. One could wonder why not? Do these people know less about the roads of Ireland than “Dr” Gaybo does? Him being man who said today that his level of qualification for the job is “none whatsoever”.

The ‘Benefit of the Doubt’ Approach

Gay Byrne has a home in Donegal. He will be close to the action, given the amount of road traffic accidents in that region of late. Being a ‘local’, he will be able to perform his duties from a grass-roots perspective. Also, if he is to resign due to inaction on the government’s part, for example (as he has threatened: “If I find, in a reasonable period of time, there is a lack of co-operation by civil servants or stone walls, or if I find that what I was told was all lies I will walk away as quick as Eddie Shaw or even quicker”) perhaps the public outcry that is needed to kickstart the government into action will begin. His celebrity status should help that; certainly more than the resignation of Eddie Shaw did.

Should we have faith in him? Do we have much of a choice? Perhaps the best thing to come out of this would be for Gay Byrne to get frustrated by the government as soon as possible so that someone with relevant experience for the job can apply for it – apply for a job from the government? Never.