Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent) | Oireachtas source

New speed limits were introduced on 7 February. We all hope this will be a significant step in the right direction, particularly in introducing improvements in road safety and, most important, reducing road fatalities and serious injuries, most of which can be life-changing. All one has to do is take a look at the number of people being sent to the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dún Laoghaire following significant injuries.

As part of the broader initiative, it is hoped that this change will make an impact, particularly on rural roads. Many drivers are travelling at speeds way over the limit on small rural roads. Anybody who canvassed in rural areas last year will have seen the speed at which people travel. Speed limit signage will be changed or replaced with new speed limits but I am not that confident they will do the job that is needed. Will the change of the rural speed sign from five stripes to a smaller number work? Even more worryingly, are people even aware of what the signs mean? I have asked several qualified drivers but they do not have a clue, so this is a significant issue. Would it not be better to just put numbers on them such as 50, 60, 70 or 80 km? Would that not make more sense? Who was the genius who came up with the stripes? It is a bad idea that lacks effectiveness.

Signs are useless without enforcement. There need to be random Garda checks. They do not have to be there all day because word gets around on Facebook fairly quickly. There needs to be spot checks for 20 minutes or half an hour in different rural locations. The Government needs to get it across to the Garda Commissioner that this needs to happen so that gardaí are able to carry out random checks on rural roads and we have enough gardaí to do it.

In 2024, 174 people lost their lives on Irish roads, with 69% of these fatalities occurring on the roads we are talking about, so there is a particular need for radical change in how we address the situation on rural roads. The use of mobile phones is completely out of control. I have been raising this issue for 14 years. Drink and drug statistics are showing a rise again, unfortunately. Garda presence is also an issue. An Garda Síochána is taking some welcome initiatives, including using HGV vehicles for surveillance where gardaí can see into cars and see whether people are on Facebook or checking out somebody who is at the hairdressers or the races instead of driving the car. These issues must be addressed. Education is important as well. Some of this should be done in transition year.

Joe Drennan, a young man who came from the town of Camross near Mountrath, was mowed down at a bus stop in Limerick on 13 October 2023. As things stand, the driver of that car will serve no time in prison for it. There has been a major campaign over the past few weeks since the judge handed down the sentence. Thankfully, that has changed. The Director of Public Prosecutions has been lobbied intensely on it. There was a large protest march in Mountrath last Sunday and another one is planned for Camross this coming Sunday. The DPP is now going to appeal the decision, which is welcome. Hopefully, it will be successful but we need to change the nonsense of concurrent sentences as opposed to consecutive sentences. There cannot be a complete overlap. That is the problem here. This was somebody who was facing firearms charges and had 46 previous convictions. He mowed down a young chap coming home from work standing at a bus stop but will not have to serve an extra hour in prison for it. I am appealing to the Minister of State, who is a new Minister, to take this on board, speak to his colleagues in Government about it and put a proper framework for sentencing in place. It is key. Marguerite and Tim Drennan, who are the parents of this young man, are looking for that. I am begging the Minister of State to do this, as are other people around the country. We need to change that.

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