Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, who is no stranger to this Chamber.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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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.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important issue relating to Kilmessan. I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, who sends his apologies.

I fully understand where the Senator is coming from. I assure her that the Government, road safety partners and all the agencies are working to address the alarming trends in road fatalities and serious injuries and continue to focus on priority actions. I will bring the Senator's request to measure and collate data and to use it as a part of a road safety campaign relating to traffic calming back to the Department.

In the context of the response by the Department, which I will come back to, the Senator made a very good point regarding the school, its 231 students, their parents and teachers and the entire school community. I wonder whether the school has applied to participate in the safe routes to school programme. I am happy to work with the Senator in this regard because it is important that we collectively work with, for example, as she said, Skane Valley Community Council and Meath County Council, to get back on track towards a steady reduction in annual fatalities on our roads. Each fatality is a person from a family, from a village and from a community. As I said earlier this week in the House, last year there were 175 road deaths, which was down on the year before, but this figure was the highest since 2014. As the Senator rightly said, there are four causes of deaths on our roads: speeding, distracted road users, not wearing a seatbelt and intoxicated driving. The matter she has raised relates to erratic speed and the volume of traffic.As I mentioned in the House this week, some of this is about personal responsibility, some is about the combined approach of the Government, agencies and Meath County Council in the Senator's case, and working with people and public representatives such as Senator Nelson Murray to ensure we tackle behaviour, bring in education and enforcement and create driver awareness about the long-term effect of speeding. We also need to bring in legislative reform.

As Senator Nelson Murray said, the speed limit changes were introduced in February and were backed by legislation. They are part of the Government's response to systemically address the most dangerous of behaviours. The current national framework for road safety is set out in the Government's fifth road safety strategy. I hope we can work with local authorities to ensure we deliver for Senator Nelson Murray.

Senator Ryan and the Leas-Chathaoirleach referenced the Castletroy junction in the House previously. This week, Senator Kennelly made a point on the issue in Kerry. It is about working to have the Vision Zero targets achieved. This means a combined effort, taking on board some of what Senator Nelson Murray has suggested and perhaps changing some of the parameters. Under the action plan, which is phase 2 of the strategy over the next two years, we will focus on delivering actions that can have a high impact on the road safety outcomes we all want.

As Members know, the Road Traffic Act is the Government's response to road safety trends. It tries to monitor, regulate and change driving behaviour through, for example, mandatory drug testing at the scene of a collision, penalty points system reform and the introduction, which Senator Nelson Murray might want to see in her area, of safer default speed limits as recommended by the speed limit review. The speed limit review will bring decreases in speed limits from 80 km/h to 60 km/h and from 50 km/h to 30 km/h. We have done this in some larger urban areas. In a debate this week, Senator Noonan made reference to a friend of his who was involved in a fatal road traffic accident. It is about ensuring that, in urban areas such as Kilmessan, we have safer speed limits. It is not about applying targets. Rather, it is about working with local authorities to conduct speed limit reviews to aid them in setting correct speed limits, looking at traffic calming measures, and working with An Garda Síochána on enforcement.

As Senator Nelson Murray has said, the accumulation and gathering of speed data is important for each local authority. If there is an anomaly and we are not getting the proper information then I, as the Minister of State, am not afraid to look at it and speak to the relevant people. In the case of Kilmessan, the average peak and off-peak speeds should be collated so that we can ensure accurate information is provided. I look forward to working with Senator Nelson Murray on the matter and with the Ministers, Deputies O'Brien and Calleary.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State very much for his very thorough response, which I appreciate. I know the Government is working well on reducing speed limits and everything else we are trying to do. With regard to speed limits, we do not even have a Garda station in Kilmessan. It was closed a good few years ago. A garda comes to the village only once a week. It is hard to reprimand people for speeding.

I will take up the suggestion on the safe routes to school programme and I thank the Minister of State for it. With regard to the information we are getting, there is an anomaly, as the Minister of State has said. We should use testimony from the people in the village to let the Minister of State know what is happening. This should also be taken on board as well as the facts.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Nelson Murray and I reassure her the Government is fully committed to providing a safe and secure transport network - Kilmessan is very much a part of this - that will help to serve the needs of all members of society. From my perspective in government, the Government's road safety strategy is the bible we used to improve road safety and make our roads safer for all. The strategy is about delivering Vision Zero, with zero deaths on our roads by 2050. It is also about ensuring, in the case raised by Senator Nelson Murray, that we have consistent and appropriate speed limits that will help improve road safety. The proposed speed limit review was undertaken by the Department of Transport in 2023. The first phase of this has had an effect. The next phase will be the change in going from 100 km/h to 80 km/h. Hopefully in urban areas and towns we will see the various classes of roads being looked at by local authorities in conjunction with various stakeholders with regard to bylaws. Meath County Council will have a role to play in having special speed limits that may differ from the default speed limits.

I would not be afraid to ask An Garda Síochána, despite Kilmessan having no Garda station, to look at the issue of technology. We have the GoSafe vans and speed cameras. Equally, Meath County Council has a critical role in setting special speed limits on roads, or on sections of roads, where it believes specific circumstances mean a speed limit that differs from the default is required. I will be happy to work with Senator Nelson Murray on this.