Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Mary Hanafin, had to rush away after dealing with the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008 and she asked me to thank the Senators for their co-operation on the Bill.

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. The Government has invested significant resources in the area of road safety in recent years. The Road Safety Authority was established in 2006 and is doing much to improve driver behaviour and training. Under the Roads Act 1993, the National Roads Authority is specifically charged with the provision of a safe and efficient network of national roads.

To discharge this function the NRA invests significant funds in identifying and improving sections of national primary and secondary roads which are the scenes of accidents. They achieve these safety improvements through a combination of various low-cost improvements such as better road markings, the use of continuous white lines, improved advanced signage and the provision of additional road studs, or as they are more popularly known, "cats-eyes". Other more expensive remedial works can involve re-alignment of bends, improvement of sight lines at junctions or the removal or rationalisation of junctions if considered necessary.

The NRA and the local authorities employ skilled professional staff who are responsible for implementing safety measures on our roads. It is not my intention to issue them with directions on specific issues such as the deployment of cats eyes. A range of measures are available and the NRA and the local authorities have experts and they do what is appropriate. It would not be appropriate for me to tell them what they should or should not do on specific roads. Otherwise, we might as well take it all back into the Department.

Running alongside the safety remediation work is the much bigger national roads programme. Under this programme the roll-out of the major interurban routes continues at a rapid pace. These new high-quality dual carriageway or motorway type roads provide a much safer road network by separating local and regional traffic streams and providing less opportunity for collisions. As these new sections of road are opened they take the heavy through traffic away from the increasingly inadequate single carriageways. These revert to being used by local traffic which makes them safer.

All of the Government agencies work in their individual areas of expertise and together have a beneficial impact on reducing the sad death toll on our roads. Overall, Ireland saw a considerable reduction in fatalities last year which was much improved on ten years previously when in 1997, the number of people killed was 472 people. Last year this figure was 339. We have seen further improvement this year and the latest figures show that as of today, the number is down more than 50 on the same period last year.

According to the European road safety performance index programme, which is run by the European Transport Safety Council, Ireland is now ranked in the top ten best performing EU countries for road safety performance based on current trends. Last December was a particularly horrific month. One must be conscious of road safety at this time of the year but there is a real chance that the number of fatalities this year might fall below 300. However, 300 is 300 too many as it means that this Christmas 300 families will be mourning the loss of a loved one. As well as those who are killed, approximately ten times this number, or 10,000 families, will be coping with the effects of a serious injury to a family member. The road safety strategy is in place and its overriding aim is to reduce fatalities to 60 per million or 250 a year.

The legal position on the lighting of bicycles is unambiguous. For use in a public place, bicycles must be fitted with a white front light and a red rear light. They must also be equipped with a red rear reflector. A person who fails to comply with these requirements faces a fine of up to €1,000. Persons who use a bicycle at night without proper lighting, as well as breaking the law, are putting themselves at serious risk through their own irresponsible behaviour. The matter of cyclists' visibility is primarily one of personal responsibility and it is difficult to see how action at European level would lead to improved behaviour. The rules of the road offer clear practical advice to cyclists to make themselves less vulnerable, such as attaching reflective material to their bicycles, wearing a reflective armband, and wearing a "Sam Browne" reflective belt or vest.

A new cycling strategy is currently being finalised and is expected to be announced early in the new year. This will address all issues relevant to cycling with the intention of creating a greater culture of cycling. I thank the Senator for raising the matter.