Minister Welcomes Stockholm Declaration

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Mr Shane Ross, has welcomed the Stockholm Declaration, agreed today at the Third Global High Level Conference on Road Safety.

Building on the Moscow Declaration of 2009 and the Brasilia Declaration of 2015, UN General Assembly and World Health Assembly resolutions, the Stockholm Declaration connects road safety to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Stockholm Declaration also reflects the recommendations of the conference’s Academic Expert Group and its independent and scientific assessments of progress made during the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and its proposals for a way forward.

The Stockholm Declaration reaffirms the importance of international cooperation in achieving sustainable development goals (SDG) with particular focus on achieving global road safety targets.

The Declaration commits the participants to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to -

• contribute to reducing road deaths by at least 50% from 2020 to 2030,

• increase political commitment to address the burden of road traffic injury on children and young people by ensuring that the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents Health delivers necessary action on road safety,

• include road safety and a safe system approach as an integral element of land use, street design, transport system planning and governance , especially for vulnerable road users and in urban areas,

• establish regional, national and subnational strategies and action plans for road safety and contributions from different governmental agencies as well as multi-sectoral partnerships to deliver the scale of efforts required at regional, national and sub-national levels to achieve SDG targets, and that these strategies and efforts are transparent and public

Ireland has long recognised the value of learning from international best practice in refining its approach to policy design and development. We participate annually in a number of international forums to share best practice and learn from other countries; these include the OECD Group IRTAD, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), and the European Commission group CARE.

Equally, Ireland has a role to play in helping other countries who have a poorer road safety record to make positive strides in policy development to reduce deaths and injuries on their roads. In this context, following invitation by the ETSC, Ireland is participating in the ETSC/EC Road Safety Twinning Programme whereby we will be partnered with other EU Member States to share our experience of successful policy development and implementation in key areas that may benefit them as they continue to refine their policy approaches to improve their road safety performance.

Speaking in Stockholm today, Minister Ross said

The Stockholm Declaration is ambitious and forward-looking. It emphasizes our shared responsibility, globally, in reducing the number of road traffic fatalities and other sustainability challenges such as climate change, health and poverty.

While Ireland’s road safety performance has improved greatly over the past decade there is no reason to be complacent, there is always scope to learn from our EU and international counterparts, particularly on a policy basis.

Every death on our roads is one too many.”

ENDS

Additional Information

• The 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety took place in Stockholm on 19–20 February 2020. The theme of the conference is Achieving Global Goals 2030 – road safety issues and possible solutions linked to other sustainability challenges such as climate change.

• The event is co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), with minister-led delegations from more than 80 countries in attendance. Representatives from the world of industry and research, international institutions and organizations also participate.

• The host was the Swedish Minister for Infrastructure Tomas Eneroth. His Majesty the King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf, was also in attendance and made the introductory remarks on road safety.

• The Stockholm Declaration follows the Moscow Declaration of 2009 and the Brasilia Declaration of 2015. The Stockholm Declaration was prepared in close collaboration with the conference’s steering group. The Declaration went through an extensive consultation with WHO Member States through their permanent representations in Geneva, and a transparent and inclusive public consultation open to everybody around the world.

• 2018 was Ireland’s safest year on record with 141 deaths occurring, equivalent to 29 deaths per million. In June 2019, Ireland was awarded the prestigious ETSC PIN Award by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) to acknowledge Ireland’s progress in reducing deaths in 2018.

• In Ireland there was a 4% increase in deaths recorded in 2019, up from 141 to 147 deaths, equivalent to 30 deaths per million. In order to reach Ireland’s target of no more than 124 deaths, or 25 deaths per million by the end of 2020, we will need to achieve a 16% reduction in fatalities between 2019 and 2020. Essentially, this means saving, on average, 2 deaths per month in 2020 relative to 2019.

• As of 19 February 2020, there were 15 deaths on Irish roads, which is 6 fewer deaths compared to the same period in 2019.