Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for their contributions. I agree with most of what has been said. As Senator Mooney said, 20 km/h is slow.

I offer my continued sympathy to Jake Brennan’s family. When the Jake’s Legacy Campaign began, it sought mandatory implementation of this speed limit via a directive from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. I believed then, as I believe now, that would have been the wrong thing to do for two reasons. The first is the correct forum in which to set speed limits for local roads is the local authority in conjunction with the communities it represents. While it is appropriate for the Minister to have a direct role in issues relating to national roads and roads overseen by TII, the correct way to regulate speed limits an all other roads, which comprise the majority of our roads, is for the Minister of the day to set down the options based on research available to him or her before the local authorities determine the correct speed limit for them. That is particularly appropriate for residential estates and areas in which many people live because it is important that the local authority goes through a period of consultation with them before the councillors set the speed limit.

The reason for that, as Senators have acknowledged, is because it is not realistic or appropriate to think the Garda would be available to enforce every speed limit at all times. Speed limits have to be self-regulating and securing the consent of communities for new speed limits, therefore, makes sense if one is looking for them to be self-regulating.

Senator Mooney is correct that 20 km/h is a low speed limit. While I do not believe it will be broadly applied in residential areas all over the country, in many cases, the 30 km/h or 50 km/h speed limit will be implemented. Nonetheless, it could well be applicable for particular housing estates and communities based on the number of young children on them or the number of roads passing through them or their adjacency to a busier road. However, the correct people to decide on that are local authority members in conjunction with the communities who may well decide a lower speed limit is appropriate, which the local authority can then implement.

Senator Barrett referred to the need to public consultation and to specify further traffic calming measures. The reason I do not propose to accept the amendment that contains these provisions is section 9 of the Road Traffic Act 2004 empowers local authorities to make by-laws setting speed limits and provides for the need for public consultation. Section 9(4) requires that the by-laws be published in the press or local media and be subject to public scrutiny for 30 days into which local residents can input. Local authorities can incorporate this feedback into the decisions they make.

With regard to specifying the need for further traffic calming measures, in my own experience, local authorities do this anyway.Regarding the lower speed limit of 20 km/h, last year we paid centrally for new signage to be available for local authorities so they could then implement the lower speed limit. Graphics of that new signage may have been shared in the information made available through the Oireachtas library.

While I understand completely where the amendment is coming from, I believe it is already covered in earlier road traffic legislation, which is why I am not proposing to accept it.