Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy again for raising this matter and for the contribution he made. There are many factors involved in road safety. Vehicle standards, road conditions and, above all, road user and driver behaviour have an impact on how safe our roads are. In just over two decades we have seen a large reduction in the number of fatalities on our roads, from 472 in 1997 to a record low of 138 in 2018. This remarkable transformation was due to many actions by many people and organisations and was achieved against a backdrop of a significant increase in the number of vehicles on our roads. However, we cannot be complacent. As the number of deaths has reduced, it has become harder to get it down further. In 2020 there were 149 deaths, nine more than in 2019, and this happened in spite of an unprecedented drop in traffic volumes as part of that period during the pandemic. Both the RSA and An Garda Síochána have indicated that they will focus on education and enforcement for the remainder of the year. Later this year, the RSA is planning to develop a new road safety campaign that will focus on the safety of rural roads. The campaign will have a particular focus on appropriate measures on excessive speeding by drivers and the need to always expect the unexpected.

I thank Deputy Leddin for the constructive comment he has made and his proposal. The Department should give serious consideration to it. It is something that has been raised in my constituency, where rural communities are proposing such infrastructure on rural verges. This is an opportunity we should seize with additional funding for cycling and walking, which was unprecedented in the most recent budget. It is vitally important we tackle this issue. As already stated, young people and people of all ages should be able to enjoy our rural countryside in safety without vehicles getting faster and bigger. We have a serious challenge ahead but it is important that the Government tackles it.

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