Ms Joan Martin:

For the past number of years I have been a member of the joint ministerial committee on road safety. We examine the figure every quarter for the number of deaths and injuries on our roads and obviously cyclists have been a particular worry in recent times.

The promotion of safety for cyclists is a big priority for the Road Safety Authority, RSA. Recently the RSA changed its policy and called for drivers of vehicles when driving on our roads to leave a distance of an arm's width between them and a cyclist or cyclists. The RSA will continue with its long-term safety campaign to make all road users more aware of vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. There is no doubt that segregated or dedicated cycle lanes and off-road cycle lanes where cyclists are completely away from traffic are probably the way to go as much as possible. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to ensure that happens in the built environment.