Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this matter, which unfortunately is quite topical. I applaud his concern for road safety, which is one of my primary concerns in this portfolio. As he has pointed out, the death toll in this country is still horrific. I do not intend to use any clichés when I say that even though the numbers are coming down, all road deaths are completely unacceptable, unnecessary and absolutely tragic. I applaud the Senator for consistently raising issues of this sort in this House. I do not in any way want to discourage the splendid initiative to which he has referred. The question of whether the Government could fund it is a somewhat different one. I should say that the people of Cavan-Monaghan, the gardaí and everybody else should be encouraged in every possible way to pursue this initiative.

We should not always look to central government for everything. In other words, we have a strong Road Safety Authority, RSA, and - I hope - a strong unified message coming from all the political parties. Sometimes we favour different methods, and that is fair enough, but we are all part of the drive to reduce road deaths and to promote road safety. If there is a spontaneous voluntary effort in Cavan-Monaghan, Kerry or Donegal - it does not matter to me - we should encourage it. I am aware that the area Senator Gallagher is talking about is particularly dangerous. It is understandable that people in the area are deeply concerned about what is happening there. We should not stand in the way of local communities coming together and doing things spontaneously. This should not be done in a disorganised fashion, but in a way that raises the consciousness of people in local areas regarding the difficulties, danger spots and tragedies in those areas.

Part of the impetus from central government and the RSA, which is running a huge national campaign on an ongoing basis, is to raise national awareness of the tragedies that can and should be avoided and reversed, while also taking particular and specific measures. I believe the initiative mentioned by the Senator fits perfectly logically with that approach. Obviously, I will have to consult the RSA in this regard. Maybe it would be right for any issues or initiatives of this sort to be pursued in conjunction with the unstinting and relentless efforts of central government. The road figures to which the Senator has referred are not acceptable. No road death is acceptable. However, we should acknowledge that the numbers at the moment are down on last year. The reduction is not enough - nothing is enough - but it can be partly attributed to the increase in public awareness of the tragedy of road deaths and the prevention measures that are being taken by central government and local communities.

In delivering on its commitment to bringing road safety into all communities, the RSA has established a nationwide road safety education service. A team of dedicated road safety educators is available to travel to preschools, schools, colleges, communities and places of work to deliver established and effective programmes to everyone. The programmes tackle all elements of road safety including walking, cycling, travelling by public transport and being a passenger. They also deal with urban and rural transport issues and with safe road behaviour in general. As part of this service, the RSA has developed a range of materials that teachers can use to educate schoolchildren about road safety as it applies to all road users.

The Senator referred specifically to educating transition year students. The RSA has made several road safety education programmes available. All of these sustained programmes have been developed using a cumulative and evidence-based approach to learning and with the assistance of education psychologists and the RSA education team. This year, the RSA piloted a new programme on road safety, known as Road Safety Matters, which is aimed at transition year students under the junior cycle short course. Another specific transition year programme, known as Your Road to Safety, promotes awareness, knowledge, skills and values which create a foundation for the development of safe road users. This programme is being substantially redesigned to reflect changes in the way young people learn. It will be available through a virtual learning environment in 2018.

The two main elements of the RSA's mobile roadshow are the shuttle and the roll-over simulator. The overall theme of the shuttle focuses on the main causal factors for road collisions and injuries, including drink-driving, non-wearing of safety belts, speeding and driver fatigue. Advertising and visuals that are placed inside and outside the shuttle communicate the core messages of road safety and invite visitors to learn more about their vulnerabilities as road users. This interactive unit is accompanied by a roll-over simulator, which continues to be highly effective in encouraging people to use safety belts. The simulator is a car body fitted to a rotating hydraulic platform. Participants sit into the simulator and experience a half or full rotation demonstrating how it feels to be in a car when it turns over in a collision and emphasising the lifesaving benefits of seat belt use in such circumstances. The main aim of the road safety interactive units is to give the general public and target audiences a chance to interact with various road safety campaigns and to spread the message about the importance of road safety.

Teams of fully qualified teachers deliver road safety education to all visitors to RSA roadshows. These teams are on the road throughout the year visiting schools, festivals and community groups, etc. The RSA's efforts in educating and communicating a road safety message are supplemented by local initiatives, often organised by local authority road safety officers and the Garda Síochána. The roadshow mentioned by Senator Gallagher is an example of a local initiative that the RSA supports through its attendance when it is invited to do so. While local roadshows perform a highly valuable service in terms of road safety education and awareness, I do not have any plans to provide funding supports to them at this time. There is no reason for anything other than full co-operation between those involved in such efforts and the RSA. However, we do not want to see some sort of competitive tension between them. We are all on the same side. Obviously, the RSA is doing a great deal of work in this regard. The initiative referred to by the Senator is extraordinarily valuable. I imagine those involved can co-ordinate with the RSA to get a visit from the simulator. In my supplementary remarks, I can give the House some figures with regard to how many schools have applied for such a visit, if the Senator wishes.