Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

It seems that my party raises the issue of road safety every year. The Government has done nothing about it. The proof is that the number of road accidents and the numbers killed on our roads have increased rather than decreased. The numbers of young people under 30 being killed on the roads increases every year. The Government is not getting the message and is not trying to solve the problem.

I will give an example of the NRA and a county council at loggerheads over placing road signage. In my constituency this morning an articulated lorry overturned at a roundabout. This is the tenth lorry in recent months to have overturned on this roundabout going into Rosslare harbour. This is a major problem at that location. I was told this evening that although most of the accidents which take place there involve lorries from overseas with overseas drivers, Wexford County Council cannot put up signs in European languages at the approaches to the roundabout. The council has been told that it will take four to five months before the NRA can give it permission to erect any sort of warning signage.

This is a scandalous situation involving two State bodies, the NRA and the council, at loggerheads, trying to come up with some form of safety solution and unable to do so. I call on the Minister of State to give a satisfactory answer on why a solution cannot be found. It might save lives. There are many similar locations across the country.

We must consider the numbers of European drivers visiting Ireland, especially over the summer months. There are very few European road safety signs on our roads. We must be proactive. The many drivers who come here from France, Germany, Italy and other countries must be catered for, just as they cater for us in their countries. I ask the Minister of State to look into this as a matter of urgency.

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