Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Transport further to the increases in road fatalities in 2005, the reason the Government-appointed expert group on road safety has not met in over six months; when this group intends to meet again; the Government's views on whether it will reach all the targets set out in the national road safety strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11583/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The high level group on road safety, which is chaired by my Department and comprises representatives of all Departments and agencies that provide input into road safety policy generally, is mandated with responsibility for the development of the road safety strategy and for monitoring its delivery. The group, which meets about four times each year, is scheduled to hold its next meeting later this month. The period since the last meeting of the group has featured the delivery of significant progress on a number of road safety related initiatives. Those initiatives have included the enactment of the Road Traffic Act 2004 and the establishment of the new Garda traffic corps.

The high level group will now focus on the advancement of other key initiatives identified in the strategy, such as the further rollout of the penalty points system. Achieving the main target set in the strategy would see road deaths reduced to a level of not more than 300 by the end of 2006. The scale of the task facing the high level group in realising that target can be measured against the fact provisional figures show that in 2004, 380 people died on our roads. The rate of fatalities in 2004 has so far been replicated and indeed slightly exceeded in 2005. This clearly implies that the efforts of all agencies must be focused on halting this worrying trend and then reversing it in the period between now and the end of 2006.

The efforts of the Garda traffic corps to bring about the deterrent effect associated with high levels of enforcement will be critical in this regard.