Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. As we know, the number of road fatalities has increased significantly in recent years. There were 188 in 2023, the highest number since 2014, when the number was 192. Already in 2024, up to yesterday, there were 63 compared to 49 this time last year. This is really worrying. The total number of collisions is up 58 this year compared with 45 at this time last year. People are dying and getting hurt, and we need to do something urgently.

I welcome the new Garda roster that will see a greater Garda presence on our roads but there are major issues. I met representatives of TII, the Minister of State's office and Carlow County Council last week following a massive collision and fatalities on a stretch of the N80 in Carlow. It was absolutely horrific. I have been working very well with Carlow County Council. I thank it for its work and the councillors for their commitment. I also thank TII because the meeting it was very positive in that there is to be funding. Thankfully, TII has committed to working with Carlow County Council on safety measures on the N80 in the interim. Although we have funding, it is a matter of how quickly we can get the road done and implement the measures needed. We need to make our roads safer.

The level of non-compliance on Ireland's roads is off the scale, according to the chair of the Road Safety Authority, Liz O'Donnell. On RTÉ, she said those caught breaking the rules of the road should face more severe penalties. If she is saying this, we need to pay attention. She revealed that studies have shown high levels of non-compliance in terms of speeding, mobile phone use, drink and drugs. This is unacceptable.

Community-based road safety groups from across the country have said the RSA is not fit for purpose. I am raising this because I have a huge issue with it. The authority is not doing its job. I am contacted every week by young people who cannot get a driving test. I am not saying they are driving anyway but that if we cannot ensure those on our roads are driving correctly, we need to take a good look at ourselves. The staffing of driving test centres is not good enough. It needs to be. The waiting time at driving test centres in Kilkenny remains at 26 weeks, and in Carlow it is 16 weeks. This is just not acceptable. The RSA estimates that the agreed service level, namely an average waiting time of ten weeks, will resume in May 24, but we are almost there. These are the issues we work on daily but we seem to be getting nowhere.

We also need to tackle education. There are many factors to an accident but I am worried that, since 2019, people aged between 16 and 25 have accounted for some 20% of all road deaths but make up just 12% of the driving population. Last year, over a quarter of all fatalities were in this age group. It is really worrying. It happens to be getting worse. On the RSA graph of road crashes, we are seeing an upturn in what used to be a downward trend. Of the 61 who died on our roads in 2024, one third were 25 years old or younger.

We need to talk seriously about speed and have a public awareness campaign on the dangers of driving too fast. Dr. Michael Gormley, assistant professor of psychology at Trinity College Dublin, focuses on driving behaviour. We need to talk about the behaviour of everyone, but young people in particular. We need a public awareness campaign and more safety on our roads. We all have a personal responsibility when on the road. One life lost on a road is one too many. Families are heartbroken and never will be the same. People and communities are affected and we have to ensure that we do not have any more lives lost on our roads.

I met representatives of TII, the Department and Carlow County Council. Getting the funding to our local authorities is crucial.

When a planning application has to go to An Bord Pleanála, the timescale is considerable. Around the country, but particularly in County Carlow, where I work, roads need to be prioritised and funding needs to be made available. When funding is available and an application goes to An Bord Pleanála, one must wait a long time for a decision. I beg the Minister of State to determine what we can do in this regard. This is about road safety and saving lives, and these have to be a priority.

In fairness, a considerable amount of roads funding has been given to local authorities. However, Carlow never gets enough. I am always saying we need more, as the Minister of State knows. We need a lot more of everything to do with roads and transport.

Small schemes such as LIS have an impact in rural areas. Rural areas have some roads that really require funding. We see considerable traffic. Twelve thousand cars and vans travel each day on the N80, the Carlow–Wexford road on which there have been so many accidents. We encourage people to be environmentally friendly and we are always trying to save the planet, which we need to do and on which we need to work with everybody, but there are byways and highways in County Carlow for which the local authority is not getting funding. I ask that more funding be allocated for local schemes to make our roads safer for people and ensure those going to work or going shopping will know they are on a safe road. That is our duty of care to the people of County Carlow.

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