First, we are all shocked by the terrible loss of life on our roads. There were about 188 road fatalities in 2023, the highest since 2014, when the figure was 192. As of 21 February, 32 people had lost their lives, in 29 collisions on Irish roads, an increase of two deaths on this time last year. A lot of young people are losing their lives. I get a sense that post-Covid, something has happened on our roads and I cannot quite put my finger on it. We need to do deeper analysis, because the figures are going up, not down. A ministerial committee on road safety, attended by the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, and the Minister of State with responsibility for justice, Deputy James Browne, has been established and meets quarterly. It met recently, in the past week or so, to identify priority actions and there are a whole range of those.

See this speech in context