Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We know that, regrettably, lamentably and tragically we are going backwards in terms of road safety and road deaths. We saw 25 road deaths in August alone. We nearly had one death every day during what should be one of the safer months. As of Tuesday last, 24 October, we have seen an increase of 36 in the number of road deaths as compared with the corresponding date in 2022. We have also seen 31 more collisions in this timeframe according to An Garda Síochána.

In May, I called on the Road Safety Authority, RSA, to be mandated to publish data on road traffic collisions in order to better inform Ireland’s transport strategy and, ultimately, protect drivers and pedestrians and save lives. The worrying statistics we have seen with regard to the continuing increase in the number of road deaths is further proof that, among other things, we need to see this data published on a regular basis.

Can the Minister of State explain why he delayed reducing the timeframe for developing detailed guidance for local authorities, which he stated in August could be reduced from one year to around three months? We know from the RSA that research indicates there was a significant change in drivers’ attitudes and behaviours during the Covid-19 pandemic, so why, when we saw this change revert, did the Minister not take action to speed up the process? The Minister for Justice spoke last week about how a change in driver behaviour is the reason for a significant drop in the detection of road traffic offences. Does the Minister have any data to back this statement up as I suspect this decrease may be due to a number of different factors, including but not limited to, fewer gardaí assigned to roads policing units and the aforementioned changes in driver behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw fewer cars and more gardaí on the roads? The Minister for Justice acknowledged that there has been a reduction in detections of road traffic offences in recent years.

I acknowledge the Minister of State's creative measures to tackle speeding through the doubling of penalty points on bank holidays. I can see he is making efforts and striving to do what he can to improve road safety given the current regulatory and legislative framework. I believe there is increased momentum and we are seeing that in discussions at the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications and in this Chamber. I welcome that but we need to see that pushed through.

There are other aspects of this matter that require further action. Waiting lists for driving tests are too long, a matter we discussed extensively at the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. As shown by a report in The Irish Timesearlier this month, a staggering number of people in this country are driving around on provisional licences and have never taken the driving test. Some of them may have no intention of driving or may be sitting on waiting lists, but we need to ensure those waiting lists are reduced and that more people are taking and passing the test and being accredited as safe drivers.

Another way of reducing the number of road deaths would be by expanding and improving our public transport services nationwide. With the population increase allied with our lack of public transport options, particularly in rural and some commuter areas, too many people in Ireland are getting into their cars, which is leading to greater numbers of cars on the roads. This increases the likelihood of accidents. In some areas, we have links but they are not being delivered. In Ratoath, County Meath, I work with our local area representative Eilish Balfe with regard to a number of problematic routes where there are frequent cancellations of much-needed bus services while people are waiting at the stops. On Monday, 2 October, eight No. 103 services were cancelled, all of them at peak times. On 7 May, 11 services were cancelled. On 23 October, 18 were cancelled. This is an astounding number of cancellations at peak times - during the school term as well. Ratoath is not in my constituency or that of the Minister of State, but it is adjacent to both. We know how big Ratoath has become and how many people there have to commute daily for work or college in Dublin, so these buses are vitally important. If these buses do not turn up, the only choice people in Ratoath have is to resort to using their cars.

That is something we cannot have. People are missing medical appointments and being disciplined at work. We also need to look at the easy wins and low-hanging fruit in improving road safety. I have been working with our local representative in Cork, Peter Horgan, who has been highlighting to the local council issues like the pedestrian crossing at Broadale and across the slip road in that area. These are simple low-cost wins that would make things safer for pedestrians.

Just yesterday, data were released showing we have the highest number of pedestrians being killed or injured on our roads that we have had for a very long time. We need to arrest these trends in respect of road deaths and accidents. There are ways of doing that. I acknowledge that the Minister of State is taking the lead on this and that he is adopting a multifaceted approach involving investment through local authorities, education, awareness programmes, encouraging better driver practices and Garda enforcement. I ask the Minister of State to continue with that energy and to work with the relevant line Ministers across those agencies and Departments to move this forward. We cannot go back. We were making progress in this area and the trends were going in the right direction but, as we know, every death and serious injury is a tragedy. All of us in this country have been touched by road deaths, either directly or indirectly. We need to get those trends going back in the right direction. We will work with the Minister of State to achieve that but we need more energy and more investment.

See this speech in context