Ms Liz O'Donnell:

I am honoured to have been nominated by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, as chairperson of the Road Safety Authority and thank the Chairman and members of the committee for the invitation to come before it. As a former Deputy and Minister of State, it is always a pleasure to come back to Leinster House, where I spent a considerable period of my life as a politician and have many good friends, in all parties and none.

By way of background and for those who do not know me, I was elected first to Dublin City Council in 1991 for the Progressive Democrats. Before that, I was active in the women's movement, canvassing in Mary Robinson's presidential campaign as a volunteer and as vice chair of the Women’s Political Association. I was first elected to the Dáil in 1992 and served as a Progressive Democrats Deputy for Dublin South from 1992 to 2007. I spent 15 years as a Member of the Oireachtas and was, initially, party spokesperson on health and social welfare and later party Whip and spokesperson on justice. In July 1997 I was appointed Minister of State at the then Department of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for overseas development assistance and human rights, a position I held until 2002. In that capacity, I had a role in Anglo-Irish relations and was a member of the Government’s negotiating team at the multi-party talks at Stormont which culminated in the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. In 2007 I was promoted to a seat at the Cabinet table as Minister of State to the Government on the retirement of my dear colleague Robert Molloy. I was a long-time member of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, as well as a membe of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges and the first Commission of the Houses of the Oireachtas. I also served as Chief Whip and deputy leader of the Progressive Democrats. I retired from politics following the 2007 general election and now work on a diverse portfolio of activities which includes journalism, public affairs advisory and consultancy work and lecturing.

I am honoured to have been asked by the Minister to take on the role of chairperson of the Road Safety Authority, RSA. I am pleased to have the opportunity to offer my experience in the role and hope I can make a valuable contribution to reducing the numbers of fatalities and serious injuries on the roads. I acknowledge the important public service remit of the authority and the very committed staff with diverse qualifications serving it. In particular, I praise the work of my predecessor as chairperson, Mr. Gay Byrne, who played such a ground-breaking role in promoting the interests of road safety in Ireland. His passionate contribution to road safety since 2006 has been immense. He has been a tireless campaigner and helped to keep the spotlight and public focus on this important health and social policy area.

The aim of the Road Safety Authority is straightforward - it is to save lives and prevent injuries by reducing the number and severity of collisions on the roads. The impact of such deaths and injuries is felt in every corner of the country by every member of society. Each fatality and serious crash has a life-altering impact on families and individuals. The unexpected loss of a loved one in a car crash is a massive tragedy, with long-term emotional and financial loss for families. Fortunately, in recent years Ireland’s road safety record has improved measurably thanks to the work of the many agencies and individuals working in a strategic way to prevent death and injury on the roads.

In taking on this role I am not starting with a blank sheet - far from it.

The current strategy - the fourth road safety strategy - has been in place since 2013 and will run until 2020. It my job is to ensure it is implemented.

An evaluation of the previous Government road safety strategy, which ran from 2007 to 2012, has revealed that 686 lives were saved and that 1,400 serious injury collisions were prevented during its operation. In addition to ensuring fewer families had to grieve the tragic loss of a loved one, this equated in monetary terms to a saving of approximately €1.85 billion to society.

The fourth road strategy strategy builds on the progress made and understanding provided by the first three strategies - 1998 to 2002, 2004 to 2006 and 2007 to 2012 - tasked with improving safety on Irish roads. In 1998, the year Ireland's first road safety strategy was launched, 458 people died on the roads. Despite the worrying rise in the number of road deaths last year, which saw 190 people lose their lives, the number of fatalities has dropped by 58%. This must be set against a 66% increase in the number of cars using the roads over the period.

The new strategy contains 144 actions, all of which are aimed at making the roads safer. The areas covered by the actions include work-related vehicle safety, medical fitness to drive, drug driving, fatigue, distraction, mobile phones, vulnerable road users, emergency response and care. Critical to the success of the strategy are an informed public that guards against complacency and high profile enforcement of life-saving road traffic laws. The strategy requires a reduction in the number of people killed on the roads to 25 per million of population or less by 2020. This means reducing the number of deaths from 41 fatalities per million, or 190 road deaths in 2013, to 124 or fewer by 2020.

Serious injuries will be a particular focus of the strategy. In addition to continuing to reduce the number of fatalities, a special emphasis is placed in the strategy on the reduction in the number of serious injuries. There continues to be systemic under-reporting of serious injuries and improving the way we capture data on serious injuries resulting from road trauma is a most important task. Reduced numbers of fatalities and serious injuries will realise benefits for public health policy objectives, as well as result in reduced demands on emergency services. A safer road environment will encourage more road users to walk and cycle, thereby improving their well-being, reducing congestion and improving the environment. Better driving will reduce fuel costs and transport related emissions which will benefit everybody, especially those involved in business and industry.

The ministerial committee on road safety will continue to oversee implementation of the strategy. Ongoing monitoring of and reporting on the progress of the strategy will be augmented by a mid-term review. I note the broadening remit of the Road Safety Authority, RSA. The authority has changed significantly since it was established in 2006 with the addition of new functions. New responsibilities include the transfer of commercial vehicle roadworthiness testing from local authorities to the RSA, the introduction of the new plastic card licence and the transfer from local authorities of driver licensing responsibilities to the national driver licence service, regulation and management of additional vocational training for bus and truck drivers under the driver certificate professional competency programme, CPC, and the carriage of dangerous goods regulations. An organisational challenge faces the authority to align its existing structures to ensure it is in the best possible position to deliver on both new and existing functions.

Since its establishment, the RSA has become entirely self-financing. In 2013 it received €6.5 million in funding from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, but in 2014 no State funding will be allocated to the body. Part of my role as non-executive chairperson will be to oversee the effective functioning of the board and ensure the required corporate governance standards are in place and functioning at the highest level. The authority wants to ensure it is a highly effective and cost-effective organisation which offers the best value for money and which is respected as a leading public service body demonstrating integrity, trust and credibility.

Sunday, 16 November is UN World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. It allows us to pause and reflect on the tragedies caused by road traffic crashes. A total of 23,592 people have died on Irish roads since records began in 1959 - roughly the population of Tralee, County Kerry. A further 76,586 have suffered serious, life-changing injuries since we began recording them in 1977. Already this year 163 families, friends and communities have tragically lost a loved one. Although great progress has been made in reducing the number of deaths on the roads, there is no room for complacency. Constant advocacy, awareness and collaboration with the Garda, emergency services and the wider public is needed to ensure members of the public embrace road safety and take personal responsibility for their driving behaviour.

In my role as chairperson, if the committee ratifies my nomination today, I look forward to working with the staff of the RSA, my fellow board directors and other agencies devoted to road safety to prevent further needless loss of life. I also welcome ongoing engagement with Deputies and Senators as they are very close to their constituents and concerns in their constituencies and can inform and keep me abreast of developments in their communities and concerns about road safety.

I am happy to take questions members may have about my nomination.