Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for representing us so well yesterday in Westminster at the opening of the House of Lords. We owe it to Senator O'Loughlin that we have a bank holiday on St Brigid's day. I commend her hard work in championing that cause.

I want to raise the issue of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, and the abysmal figures we are seeing. There is a huge increase in the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads due to speeding and people using their mobile phones. It is a huge problem, particularly among young men. People under the age of 35 account for 50% of the deaths on our roads and the majority of those are men.

Obviously, speed cameras work. I went to Rwanda on an interparliamentary trip. In the capital, Kigali, they have an AI speed camera system they call Sophie. A driver exceeding the speed limit receives a text informing them and they also receive a fine so they are quite vigilant in not speeding on the roads. The roads there are not as good as the roads here. This example shows that the technology is available to improve our road safety, but we have not invested in it. We need to properly invest in road safety in Ireland because it is really lacking. It is just not good enough having ad hoc systems of gardaí just pulling up on the side of the road and doing a few speed camera checks. We need proper speed camera infrastructure on our roads so that people know they will be caught and there will be repercussions.