Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank each of the Deputies for contributing to what is a hugely important debate. Almost everyone in this House would have personal experience of the tragedy that is the loss of a life or serious injury on the road, whether of friends or family. It leaves such a black hole and has such a devastating impact on all concerned. We have to do everything we can to try to reduce road deaths and serious injuries which cause such hurt and harm. We were seeing real progress. The figures back in 1997 were shocking, with 472 fatalities in that year. Those figures were one of the things that spurred the first of the new road safety strategies the following year, in 1998. Thanks to a variety of initiatives, including improvements in our roads and in vehicles, improvements in the testing of cars and driver training, stronger laws around intoxication and the monitoring and management of speed, we saw a significant improvement in the number of road fatalities. This happened across a number of governments and involved a variety of different agencies. However, it is a real concern that since 2018, with the exception of 2021 when there were very low volumes of traffic due to Covid restrictions, we have started to see the numbers increase again. As of yesterday morning, there were 154 deaths on our roads this year. Those deaths are a tragedy for each family. I offer our condolences, concerns and prayers to every one of those families. Road deaths are a disaster and a tragedy we have to try to avert, and to do so quickly.

The key response is our road safety strategy out to 2030. That aligns with what we have committed to doing within the European Union. It works on what is called a safe system approach, involving a systemic assessment of what is happening on our roads and what we can do about it. Like a lot of Government and agency plans, it sets out a whole series of actions. There are 50 actions in the plan and the first phase runs to 2024. There are 50 high-impact actions and 134 supporting actions. We are trying to measure what we need to do and monitor progress in that regard. We are due to conduct a review in 2024 with a view to going into the second phase, when we will change course, do more or try to do things more effectively, based on the experience of what is happening.

During this first phase of the strategy and because of this recent spike in the number of road fatalities, we have reviewed the first phase of the action plan and have brought in new initiatives in response to the increase in fatalities this year. A number of new priorities have been progressed, including a review of the operation of the mobile speed camera system, research aimed at understanding driver behaviour to try to find out the causes of this recent increase, and reform of the penalty point system, which I will elaborate on shortly. We have also been looking at cross-agency funding of road safety investment and at advancing the alcohol interlock programme. Other priorities include supporting and streamlining roads policing, reviewing the test curriculum and implementing the speed limit review.

A number of Deputies mentioned the importance of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023. That legislation contains a very significant and broad suite of measures aimed at improving road safety. It addresses the issue of scramblers, which Deputy McAuliffe mentioned, and we will look to commence the relevant measures as soon as we can.

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There has been an increase in the number of deaths involving e-scooters. People know the power and speed of e-scooters has to be regulated. We are planning for the introduction of average speed cameras, which are proven to work in terms of reducing speed in a systemic way, and allowing for variable traffic speed limits on the likes of the M50. Of great importance will be significant legislative changes to improve the insurance database to ensure there are fewer uninsured drivers, who lead to increased injury rates. There will be a range of other measures.

We know we have to go further, particularly in respect of the main causes of road fatalities, namely, speeding, intoxication and driver behaviour. In that context, I will set out a number of initiatives the Government is advancing. First, there will be the outcome of that speed review to correctly bring about radical change for the better. Doing so is not an attack on drivers as some might fear but rather a move to protect drivers. The default speed limits throughout the country will be reviewed. On national secondary roads, the limit will go from 100 km/h down to 80 km/h. For many roads throughout the country, everyone knows the speed limit is way beyond the safe characteristics of the road. Local roads will go from 80 km/h to 60 km/h and those in urban areas will go from 50 km/h to 30 km/h. We have a job ahead of us to implement that, working with local authorities. It will have a critical impact in terms of reducing injuries, however, and we must ensure it is enforced to the full in order that we get benefit from it.

Second, with regard to penalty points, we will introduce several initiatives in further legislation this year to address the issue of driver behaviour and encourage safer driving for the benefit of everyone on our streets. There will be a change to the current provision that gives rise to the unfair situation whereby a driver who commits multiple offences concurrently only gets one penalty point, whereas a driver who commits a series of offences at different times gets the full points. We will amend that to send a clear signal in respect of better and safer driving. In the context of variable application of speed limits, we are moving towards getting enforcement working at times such as at weekends when we really want to have that variable capability. There will be new measures relating to intoxication. We will be introducing legislation to provide that, in the event of a serious incident or accident, gardaí will be obliged to test not only for alcohol but also for drugs, which are an increasing element in driver behaviour that is causing fatalities.

With regard to the issue of roads investment and the wider transport budget investment, I heard Deputy Flaherty's remarks in respect of the N4. Numerous other roads throughout the country were also mentioned. We have €100 billion worth of transport projects in development but only €35 billion in the overall capital envelope. We have to be careful not to promise that every project can be developed in the lifetime of this Government or in the immediate future, but we are progressing. I recently met with the board of TII. Most of our discussion related to the issue of road safety. I told TII we need to make sure we are investing in the road network for safety and with a renewed focus. In particular, we need to consider what measures we could introduce at places where accidents tend to happen, such as at junctions or on roads where there might not be segregation or a dual carriageway, but also to bring speeds down on the main carriageway. TII is committed to that and we will not be found short in terms of providing the support it and local authorities need to deliver safer roads.

There will be benefits from investment in public transport and safer active walking and cycling. I agree with Deputy Martin Kenny that although there have been improvements in recent years, our streets are not safe. They are not safe for children to walk and cycle to school, or even for experienced cyclists such as the Deputy. That must change as a way of protecting lives. It must also involve a modal shift towards public transport and active travel. We will have safer and more effective roads for everyone where we are not in this gridlocked system. The encouragement of that switch to public transport, which is increasing, with bus and rail numbers currently expanding rapidly, is one of the other elements that can help us to deliver safer roads.

I am glad we are able to have this debate today. It is important. It is a significant issue for families throughout the country. Out of respect to people whose friends or family members have been involved in accidents, especially in the past year, it is important we give time to debate this issue and come back to it again to measure and monitor the progress we now need to make.

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