Taoiseach meets with Road Safety Authority to discuss road deaths

Taoiseach Simon Harris met today with Liz O’Donnell, Chairperson of the Board of the Road Safety Authority, and Sam Waide, CEO of the Road Safety Authority, to discuss action in response to the rising level of deaths on our roads.

The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, and Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers also attended the meeting.

A number of actions were agreed following the meeting.

They are as follows:

The RSA is to spend additional €3m across 2024 in funding for road safety campaigns and education initiatives, commencing immediately in April 2024 (to be spent from their reserves)
A proposal from the RSA-led Data Enabler Group will be provided to the Data Protection Commissioner regarding the sharing of collisions data as soon as possible. Legislative change, if required, will be implemented;
The RSA is to identify funding needs for the remainder of 2024. Subject to assessment and findings of the Indecon review, the Department of Transport will continue to ensure the ongoing funding;
An Garda Síochána to be requested to provide ongoing enforcement activity plans;
Noted the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris’ intention to increase the manpower in roads policing;
Progress the delivery of 12 new camera enforcement sites in the coming months (three of which are average speed cameras)
Work to resolve technical and legal issues so enforcement cameras can identify mobile phone use and seatbelt wearing as offences;
Continue to progress the review of the driving test curriculum which has not been undertaken in over 30 years;
Return average driving test wait times to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) of 10 weeks by mid-year;
Return NCT invitation to test waiting times to the SLA of 12 days by mid-year;
Further action on locations of interest (blackspots). The Department of Transport will engage with the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) to examine options for interim sharing to resume.

The Taoiseach confirmed he would chair a meeting of the Government’s Ministerial Road Safety Committee in the coming weeks to ensure urgent progress on these and other actions in response to the recent deterioration in road safety.

Speaking after the meeting, Taoiseach Simon Harris said:

“After nearly two decades of positive progress, we have seen recently a sudden, and worrying, increase in road deaths. The rise in the number of deaths on our roads is unacceptable, and a renewed focus is needed on road safety and driver behaviour.

“I met today with the RSA to hear what more they can do to urgently address this issue. “We agreed on a number of immediate measures including further awareness campaigns, increasing public awareness of enforcement plans by An Garda Síochána, steps to resolve the suspension of data sharing between the RSA and Local Authorities, and investment to deliver safety improvements on roads.

“I will shortly chair a meeting of the Government’s Ministerial Road Safety Committee to ensure early progress on these and other responses to the recent increase in road deaths and identify any further measures that can be taken to most effectively save lives.”

Ends