Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Road safety is a matter that affects all of us. Every citizen is entitled to feel safe on our roads. The Minister set out the key contributors to collisions and touched upon some of the measures introduced in recent years to help restore Ireland's long-term progress in the area of road safety. I will use the balance of my time to focus on some more specific interventions. On the national roads network, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, continues to have full access to collision data under the road infrastructure safety management directive and uses this information to conduct detailed analysis of the national road network to prioritise safety investment. A priority for TII is the maintenance of the existing national roads network to ensure it is kept to a safe and robust standard. This involves carrying out extensive analysis of the network to identify high-risk locations through analysis of collision data and through inspections. In 2024, increased funding of approximately €30 million was made available from within protection and renewal to support safety improvement schemes such as junction improvements and road segregation on national roads. In addition, TII funds road safety training for local authorities and An Garda Síochána.

On our regional and local roads, collision analysis by the Department of Transport on behalf of the local authorities is continuing, using data sets received from the Road Safety Authority. Locations of interest are notified to each local authority and the Department invites applications for low-cost safety schemes towards the end of each year for targeted funding and implementation in the following year. While final figures for last year are still pending, in 2023, approximately 5,000 km of local roads were strengthened and maintained on the basis of Exchequer investment of €334 million. This vital investment assists in maintaining and improving safety on the local road network, which comprises the majority of roads across the country. Last year an additional €30 million was made available to local authorities for rehabilitation of the regional and local road network in response to prolonged rainfall that adversely affected the network. Since April 2024 there has been increased visibility of An Garda Síochána at the roadside with the introduction of 30 minutes of road policing per shift for all uniformed members. This measure, which follows similar practices deployed by police forces elsewhere in the EU seems to have made a positive contribution to the number of collisions and fatalities in the second half of last year.

I also welcome the 20% increase in the hours of deployment of GoSafe vans which was first announced in September 2023. That has now been extended to October 2025. This means the hours of activity per month will continue at the elevated level of 9,000 compared with 7,500 before the uplift. An Garda Síochána is also in the process of deploying three new average speed zones and nine static cameras across the country. Two of the additional average speed zones came into operation in counties Mayo and Cavan in late 2024 and I understand the third is expected to enter operation in County Meath in the coming days. This technology has proven to be a great deterrent to excessive speed wherever it is deployed, both in Ireland and internationally. In addition to these immediate camera measures, TII is leading the development of a comprehensive national safety camera strategy for publication later this year. This will establish the framework for the future investment, deployment and development of our camera enforcement capacity. This strategy will also consider the use of cameras for purposes beyond speeding, such as identifying mobile phone use and non-wearing of seat belts.

With regard to the motoring services we provide to our citizens, there is no doubt that the driver testing service and the national car testing service have both experienced challenges in managing unprecedented demand in recent years. In 2024, 1.7 million national car tests were completed, the highest in the history of the service by a considerable margin. While this demand led to lengthy and unacceptable waiting times for customers at points, I am pleased to report the service was back to its service level target in the final months of last year and is expected to remain so during 2025 aside from seasonal peaks that are already built into the capacity planning.

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To address the issue of excessive driver testing waiting times, in September 2024, my Department sanctioned an additional 70 permanent positions for the driver testing service. This increases the total permanent sanction for testers to 200, representing a doubling of permanent posts since June 2022. I understand that recruitment is well under way and that additional capacity will enter the service in the coming months, helping it to progressively reduce waiting times. Once the service level agreement waiting time of ten weeks is restored, it will also establish the basis for us to take further action on the multiple learner permit issue whereby drivers have historically been able to continuously renew learner permits without ever sitting a driving test. An additional priority for 2025 is to progress work on the review and update the national driver testing curriculum to ensure it is fit for purpose, future-proofed and responsive to changes in vehicle technology.

I am pleased to report to the House that the revised transition year programme, Road Safety Matters, which launched in September 2024, has been a great success, having already surpassed the targets for its initial roll-out. In phase 1, 149 teachers representing 138 schools attended in-person professional learning in Swinford, Athlone, Portlaoise, Dublin, Cork, Galway and Donegal. The aim of the programme is to provide transition year, TY, students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to be safe road users. They are given information about other basic road safety matters such as the two-second rule for maintaining a safe distance between cars, how alcohol is detected in more than one third of drivers killed in collisions and how to speak up if you are a passenger in a car that is being driven too quickly. I also acknowledge the support and collaboration of the Department of Education, the Minister for Education, IPB Insurance, the RSA and my own officials in realising this new programme. As well as expanding the TY programme into more schools this year, work is under way on the primary level Be Safe programme. The RSA will be working closely with An Garda Síochána to ensure an aligned lesson plan for its team to bolster this programme.

In 2024, my Department commissioned an external independent review of the Road Safety Authority and, on 5 November, the Government approved publication of this review and noted the proposal to reform the Road Safety Authority into two independent external bodies. These two bodies will comprise an operations-focused driver and vehicle standards agency to deliver services like driver testing and the NCT and a new body to lead the State's promotional, educational and awareness campaigns on road safety. A departmental group led by the Department and comprising relevant stakeholders is progressing with this reform. A new road safety communications steering group has also been established. This is led by my Department and will bring together the RSA communication leads and other key stakeholders to ensure co-ordination across upcoming campaigns and programmes of work for 2025.

I echo the remarks made by the Minister. Road safety is a concern for all of society and there is no room for complacency in pursuing our Vision Zero ambition. Every fatality on our roads is one too many. I acknowledge the work of my officials in the Department of Transport and officials across government. Much work has been done but transformation in this space is critical when lives are at risk on our roads. I look forward to hearing the contributions of the Deputies on this important issue.

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