Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sure Deputy Heydon will be delighted with his promotion by the Deputy to Minister. Obviously, this is a critical issue and I will refer first to the road fatality figures for 2018, which show that 149 people lost their lives on the roads. It was 149 too many, but it would be remiss of me not to mention that it was the lowest figure since records began in 1959. We need to work harder to reduce the figure even further, but it is a step in the right direction. I have no doubt that the legislative changes, both the most recent and previous ones, have had an impact. Let us not forget that in the 1970s more than 600 people lost their lives on the roads in various years.

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