The Government has approved the new Road Safety Bill.
It will be published later this week and the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, says he is hopeful the bill will progress through the Oireachtas before the summer recess.
The bill includes provisions for mandatory breath testing, the outsourcing of speed cameras and a ban on the use of handheld mobile phones by drivers.
Minister Cullen was speaking at the launch of the Road Safety Authority's summer campaign against drink driving. New research from the Authority shows attitudes towards drink driving have hardened in the last five years.
The Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy, told the launch that there had been a 19% increase in the number of arrests for drink driving since the begining of the year when compared to the same period last year.
A total of 6,148 drivers have been arrested so far this year. In the same period last year, 5,156 were arrested.
The Commissioner also announced that 275 Gardai who will be attested in Templemore next week will be assigned to work exclusively with the Garda Traffic Corps 'for a period'.
