Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I really appreciate it. This issue is something I raised last week and I am delighted that it was selected as a Commencement matter.

Over the past year, I have canvassed in three elections and without a shadow of a doubt the biggest issue at the doors was the speed on our roads, whether that was on a housing estate or a rural road. People are living in fear that someone they know will be injured or, worse, killed. That is the fear of people living in Kilmessan, County Meath - a village with a population of 1,000 and growing. It houses two shops, a chipper, a restaurant, two pubs, a credit union, a school, a church and a hotel, which are all on the main street. The hotel draws in thousands per year such is the popularity of weddings there. To help with my explanation, I have brought in an aerial view of the village. As everyone can see, it goes the whole way down one straight road. With all of these businesses, the Minister of State can imagine how busy a village it is. The main road running through the village is the problem.

I received the following message from a constituent when I raised this previously:

At 8.15 p.m. on St Patrick's Day, I noticed a vehicle acting erratically. The vehicle sped through the village and was on both side of the road swerving from side to the other. The driver conducted three handbrake manoeuvres through the village. This left tyre marks on the road.

At this time there were ten people on the footpaths, including children. I cannot imagine what would have happened if this car had lost control and hit some of them. For three years, Skane Valley Community Council, a local council set up for the good of the village, along with other politicians and I, have asked Meath County Council to install ramps or speed controls in the village. Unfortunately, the request keeps getting turned down because when the council sends out traffic survey staff the average speeds at those particular times are not fast enough. However, the recorded speeds were between 42 km/h and 50 km/h. Given all the businesses, the church, school and hotel, that road is busy with parked cars on both sides of the road. If cars are travelling through at between 42 km/h and 50 km/h, it is a recipe for disaster.

I do not have facts to show the Minister of State, but it is very obvious to all who live in Kilmessan, and especially to the school authorities, that traffic calming is desperately needed such as speed bumps or humps, rumble strips, chicanes or a dynamic speed display sign. In order for Meath County Council to apply for funding for this road, it needs to pass the traffic survey. Everyone around that village can see what is happening.

I have three requests. The first is that other ways are allowed to determine how dangerous a road is in a village. Is it always about science or can it be science combined with the testimonies of people in that particular village? The people in that village know that it is a huge problem but feel it will take an accident to create a fact before something gets done. I love the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." This particular village wants to raise its children in safety but that is not happening right now. My second request is that the Minister of State takes this representation with him today and sees what his Department can do to solve the issue of danger in Kilmessan. I would hate to be standing here in front of him again after a fatality happened. The road outside the school in Kilmessan, which is attended by 231 children, needs to be examined. There is zero traffic calming outside the school right now. Finally, we need a serious examination of speed in all of our villages. I recognise that speed limits have been reduced on rural-local roads and we are expecting a reduction in urban core areas, which I am not sure will apply in this instance. I ask that villages around Ireland, many of which have experienced a big increase in population over the past few years, are reviewed in terms of what needs to be done on traffic calming.