Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Thomas Byrne for raising the matter. The Government already has a policy which provides for priority to be given to safety in our road networks around the country. This is reflected in the significant amounts of funding provided for our national road network in recent years. In the three years, 2006 to 2008, almost €5 billion was invested in capital projects related to the national road network, with a further €1.44 billion being invested this year. All this funding is resulting in significant improvements being made to our road infrastructure, which is most readily seen in the work under way on the major inter urban, MIU, routes between Dublin and Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway and the Border. The MIU between Dublin and the Border has been completed and work is under way on the remainder, with sections along those routes open to traffic.

All five routes will be open to traffic by end 2010. In addition to enhancing prospects for economic development, particularly in the current economic environment, stimulating increased tourism and improving access within regions, better roads also deliver significant safety benefits. High quality dual carriageways and motorways are proven to be seven times safer than the roads they replace. By opening more than 150 km of new roads in 2009, we will make a significant contribution to the safety of our national road network. The National Road Authority, NRA, also uses part of its annual funding allocation to identify and improve sections of road, which are the scenes of accidents.

I acknowledge the Deputy's comments on the recent road accident in Slane. Specific projects are a matter for the NRA rather than the Minister but €500,000 has been allocated this year by the authority for the planning of the Slane bypass. Planning of the project must be approved before it can be constructed. Funding will be considered but that will depend on the economic climate at the time. However, significant funding has been allocated to the planning side this year.

Bigger and better roads are only one aspect of improving road safety. A tangible difference can be made only if each and every road user takes personal responsibility and drives carefully and at a speed appropriate to the conditions. Much work has been achieved to improve driver behaviour and training through the work of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, in the past few years and the road safety strategy, which was approved by Government in October 2007. It contains 126 different actions or initiatives under the headings of education, enforcement, engineering and evaluation with a number of different agencies having responsibility and target completion dates.

The strategy's primary target is to reduce road deaths to not more than 60 per million of population by the end of 2012, which equates to an average of 21 road deaths per month or 252 deaths per year. The average number of road deaths per month in 2007 was 28 and last year the number reduced to 23. The first two months of this year were good but this month, up to last weekend, was bad. This week was better but, up to last weekend, this month was the worst so far this year. The strategy is being successfully implemented across a range of agencies and there has been a sustained reduction in the number of people killed on our roads.

The penalty points system and the introduction of mandatory testing of drivers for alcohol, coupled with high visibility enforcement by the Garda, have lead to significant reductions in fatalities. The increased levels of enforcement measures by the Garda has led to a change in attitude and a visible change in behaviour, an improvement in driving habits and a reduction in the number of people who senselessly drive while intoxicated. The lowest number of road deaths on record, at 279, occurred last year. Records began in the late 1950s. The worst year was 1972 when 670 people were killed. Both injuries and fatalities must be considered in conjunction with the overall population and the number of vehicles on the road, both of which have increased in recent years — 1 million additional vehicles in ten years. Injuries and fatalities relative to population and vehicle numbers have declined noticeably in recent years. In the past decade fatalities as measured against the number of vehicles have more than halved, which is the result of a combination of both the road safety and road investment programmes.

While the number of fatalities has reduced, the loss of even one life on our roads is one too many and it is a tragedy. I acknowledge the Deputy's comments. Driving through Slane village is a particular problem. Money is being spent on the planning of the bypass this year and, as soon as that is ready, the project will be in the pot for completion.

See this speech in context