Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Naughten for raising this important issue. The rising trend in road deaths and injuries is of particular concern, as is the very serious trend in the numbers of vulnerable road users. It is a source of great concern to me and to my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Ryan. Ensuring the vehicles driven on our roads, and each of the components of these vehicles, are safe, roadworthy and designed to the highest possible technical standards is an important measure to reduce road traffic accidents and a vital part of our road safety strategy.

The minimum standards which cars must meet are set down in type-approval law. Type-approval is the process to certify that a model of a vehicle meets all safety, environmental and conformity of production requirements before allowing it to be placed on the EU market. I agree with the Deputy that Ireland should promote the use of the safest vehicles with the most advanced safety features, including intelligent speed assistance, emergency lane keeping systems, dynamic cruise control and automated braking systems, among others. These systems have been found to be effective in reducing fatalities, decreasing the number of road accidents and mitigating injuries and damage to other vehicles.

There is already a legal requirement to restrict the sale of new cars without such systems. All new models of car sold in the European Union have been obliged, under the revised EU general safety regulation, 2019/2144, to incorporate advanced driver assistance systems technologies as part of their design from July 2022. This requirement will apply to all new cars from July 2024 onwards, whether a new model or not, meaning that all car manufacturers will be legally required to ensure any cars on sale in EU showrooms, including those in Ireland, have all mandatory advanced assistance systems fitted. Updating vehicle stock with innovative safety technology in this way will ensure the fleet becomes safer over time as older vehicles are phased out of circulation.

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