Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The issue of safety is very important. The vast majority of road collisions are caused by driver behaviour and only a small proportion - well less than 15% - are caused either by vehicle defects or road conditions. However, road conditions are, none the less, important. One of the factors worked into the additional money allocated to councils in recent weeks is if the local authorities implement safety schemes which they regard as particularly important and more essential than surface dressing or road restoration, the Department will look sympathetically at any such proposals to spend that money on safety works.

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