Mr. Michael Finn:

The Deputy is right. More than 40 people killed in the 50 km/h zone, 16 of whom were pedestrians. Three people were killed in the 30 km/h zone. It is a scientific fact that the lower the speed at which a vehicle is travelling, the greater the likelihood of the person surviving an impact. The rule of thumb is if we could lower the average speed by 1%, we would reduce the chances of injury by 2%, serious injury by 3% and death by 4%. I will put this into context. If we can reduce the speeds in built-up areas, the net effect is that a pedestrian, a cyclist or other vulnerable road user has a greater chance of surviving a collision.

It is a no-brainer for us. A lower speed is good news for us. We welcome the introduction of even lower speed limits in some of the areas. We support lower speed limits.