Mark Duffy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State back to the Seanad. It is great that he is here to discuss such an important topic for us all and for communities across the island. Sadly, in 2024, 174 lives were lost on our roads and that is 174 too many. I welcome the Minister of State's commitment to Vision Zero. All of us across the Chamber need to work collectively to achieve and improve safety measures on our roads, and in our neighbourhoods and communities across the country.

The Minister of State will be aware that 89% of the pedestrians who are injured are injured on roadways in urban areas. Towns throughout the country have been allocated funding for local transport plans, which was greatly welcomed at the time. These plans have identified projects to improve road safety, sustainable transport and connectivity in towns and villages across Ireland.However, we need to move from plans, consultants and assessments to the delivery and implementation plans in order that they do not sit on shelves but are actively invested in. There is a degree of frustration at local authority level about this.

With regard to the planning and consultation element, towns such as Westport, Castlebar and Ballina in the constituency in County Mayo in which I live have created fabulous local transport plans. These contain safe routes to school, which have been discussed previously and about which I am passionate. It is a great concept and model where each commuter going to school - be it a teacher or a student - is identified and safety measures are proposed to ensure that he or she has a safe option and route to get to school. It does exactly what it says on the tin. I have seen many instances in my area where safe routes to school plans have been created but have only been partially funded and where only minor measures are funded for each school. This defeats the purpose of what is involved. We need to 100% fund a full safe routes to school plan for each school in order that it is done once and done well rather than done part of a piecemeal approach. This would be very well received and would be a gold standard in terms of road safety measures for those who are most vulnerable, namely schoolchildren. Instead of funding partial safe routes to school plans, I ask that we fund the full suite of measures to make sure there is a holistic approach to implementation.

The Minister of State mentioned cameras that measure average speeds. I passed one today in Mayo. They are very much welcome on routes where there are dangerous junctions, such as on the N5 in Mayo, the N3 in Cavan and the M7. We should grant more autonomy to local authorities to allow the three average speed zones to be rolled out much more widely. The US has a very good model where a private contractor can install these cameras at no cost to either the state or the authority involved, maintain them and collect the receipts from fines incurred from speeding motorists on the stretches of road. This should be looked at. It is a good model that would not cost local authorities or the State anything. It would involve a net gain because, ultimately, we would have safer roads and safer outcomes for motorists. I welcome the creation of average speed zones. They should be rolled out across the country without local authorities being required to use their resources for that purpose. This would be very much welcomed.

Regarding low-cost safety measures, improving infrastructure in our towns and villages is very important in terms of creating solutions. Councillors have their finger on the pulse and know what is a dangerous junction or zone. They are the first to be called when black spots are identified. Low-cost safety measures are sometimes very welcome in terms of the funding model that exists. However, the delay between a black spot being identified to measures being funded can be up to two years. If a situation needs to be addressed at a pedestrian crossing in January 2025, it may be the end of 2025 before the application is made, the decision may be made in 2026 and it could be the end of 2026 or beyond before it is implemented. More autonomy for engineers in local authorities to allow them to work with councillors could have a really positive effect.Previously in the House, I referred to fatalities that occurred at junctions and pedestrian crossings. A year or more later, there is still no funded delivery for improvements at a particular junction. There is full agreement among councillors and engineers about the need for such improvements. Ironically, the junction in question is located within a safe routes to school area. It would be most welcome if improvements could be achieved.

I thank that Minister of State for giving of his time this evening and allowing us to contribute on such an important matter to our communities. There have been robust contributions. There is a great opportunity to improve safety across the country if local authorities can be empowered and if we can move from planning to action and delivery.