Motorists convicted of dangerous driving should face a mandatory disqualification, while curbs should be created to stop convicted drivers getting their licences back early, Fine Gael has proposed.
All motorists involved in crashes should automatically be tested for alcohol and, in time, for traces of illegal drugs, said Olivia Mitchell TD proposing a new Road Safety Bill.
Road traffic fines should be indexed to inflation, rather than requiring to be changed from time to time, by new legislation, said the Dublin South TD, the party's transport spokesperson.
The proposed legislation would also ensure that injured parties or relatives are notified when a disqualified motorist attempts to go back to the District Court seeking an early return of their licence.
Under the current law, a motorist who has been disqualified from driving can apply to have their licence returned half-way through the penalty period and many drivers serve just six months off the road.
"Although random breath testing appears to have had some success in improving safety levels on the roads, much of our existing traffic legislation remains out of date, or is hampered by inadequate penalties. In particular, there is no specific or mandatory penalty for dangerous driving," she said.
Meanwhile, Labour TD Brendan Howlin said official Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform figures prove that countries surrounding Dublin "are being starved of policing resources".
Throughout the country, there is one garda for every 360 people, though the figures are much worse for some of Dublin's commuter-belt counties, Meath, Louth, Wicklow and Wexford.
In Kildare, he said, there is one officer per 558 people, while Louth and Meath are "struggling with one per 508 people" and the Wicklow/Wexford division had one officer per 460 people.
"These areas, with all their development, exploding population size and new estates, have effectively been left high and dry with fewer than 20 gardaí per 10,000 people," said Mr Howlin, Labour's justice spokesman.
