Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy that local authorities have a very important and key role to play in road safety issues generally. I refer to the example in our own constituency where a former Garda with a lot of experience was appointed as a specific road safety officer and this has proved to be very successful in reducing road deaths and accidents. All the local authorities are focused on this issue. From the engineering point of view every local authority road project is designed with improved safety in mind. The increased effort by the Garda Síochána and the significant improvements in the roads has contributed to the 30% decrease in the level of road deaths in the past ten years.

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