Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 8 February 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

Road Safety Strategy: Discussion

9:00 am

Photo of Peter FitzpatrickPeter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In his opening statement, the Minister asked for suggestions. The introduction of the 20 km/h speed limit in housing estates has received a great deal of attention lately and is broadly welcome. One of the barriers to its introduction, however, is the prohibitive cost of ramps. I met a company recently in my constituency of Louth. It is called Nr Rubber Products Limited and it is based in County Louth. It uses 100% recycled Irish rubber to manufacture ramps. These have been tested to the EU standard and are currently in use across Europe in countries such as Italy, Spain and Portugal. This company is willing to supply its products for a pilot project in Louth to demonstrate the its suitability for Irish conditions. I ask the Minister to take up this company's offer and set up a pilot project in County Louth. I understand from the figures available that cost savings of almost €500,000 will be possible in respect of a national roll-out. When I go to my local authority, I am told week in and week out that the biggest problem it faces relates to the cost of putting ramps into estates. This could save that money. I ask the Minister and officials if they would be willing to have a pilot scheme in County Louth in order to see if this would work.

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