Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 262: To ask the Minister for Transport and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the danger to children attending a school (details supplied) in County Galway due to its situation on the N63 road and that there have been many close encounters whereby small children could have lost their lives; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the parents, teachers and local community require the assistance of a traffic warden at special times of the day; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18631/07]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The default speed limit that applies under the Road Traffic Act 2004 to a national road such as the N63 route is 100 km/h. Power to apply a lower special speed limit of 80, 60 or 50 km/h in lieu of that statutory default speed limit at any location on the N63 route is vested in the elected members of Galway county council through the making of special speed limit by-laws under section 9 of the Road Traffic Act 2004.

The exercise of that power to revise a speed limit is subject to consultation with the Garda Síochána and, in the case of a national road, to obtaining the consent of the National Roads Authority. In addition to the power to apply a special speed limit that applies on a 24-hour basis all year round as is the standard practice, the 2004 Act introduced a more flexible policy whereby the county council can apply a special periodic speed limit to operate during specific periods of the day such as for example, on a road in the vicinity of a school premises during the periods of time that school children are entering or leaving school. In late 2005 I prescribed, as an alternative to standard speed limit signs, an electronic format of a regulatory periodic speed limit sign for use in such circumstances.

The decision as to whether or not to deploy a school warden service at any particular location to stop traffic and enable schoolchildren to cross the public road in safety, is a matter for the local authority subject to the consent of the Garda Síochána. The engagement of a school warden service is a function reserved to the elected members of the council under section 96 of the Road Traffic Act 1961. The selection of the speed control measure or a combination of measures that would be optimum to address road safety needs at any location is a matter to be identified and determined at local level in consultation with the Garda Síochána and the National Roads Authority.