Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 13: To ask the Minister for Transport the reason he has not implemented a number of key actions in the road safety strategy 2007 to 2012, including an administrative disqualification system for drink drivers, a risk register for heavy vehicle goods drivers, a full time health and safety officer for every local authority, a new system for preventing car write-offs getting back onto roads here, and a review of the response system for emergency staff to road collisions; the actions under the road safety strategy 2007 to 2012 which have failed to be implemented by the designated deadline; the reason all of these deadlines have been missed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28379/09]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 62: To ask the Minister for Transport the number of recommendations of the road safety strategy 2007 to 2012 which have been implemented to date; and the status of the remaining recommendations. [28345/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 62 together.

The Road Safety Strategy 2007-2012 was prepared by the Road Safety Authority, approved by the Government and launched in October 2007.

Its overall objective, through a combination of education, enforcement and engineering actions, is to save lives and prevent serious injuries, thereby bringing Ireland in line with best practice countries in road safety terms.

The Strategy is being successfully implemented across a range of agencies. We have seen a sustained reduction in the number of people killed on our roads.

2008 saw the lowest number of road deaths on record at 279, despite the fact over the past decade there has been a 40 per cent increase in the number of drivers and a 70 per cent increase in the number of vehicles on our roads. Fatalities in the year to date (9th July) are 128, down 18 from the same date last year.

According to the European Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) programme, which is run by the European Transport Safety Council, (ETSC), Ireland moved up to 6th out of the 27 EU Member States in road fatalities per million of population (compared to 8th in 2001).

Of course it is important to maintain the momentum in Road Safety measures, as each fatality and serious injury is a tragedy for families, friends and communities.

Action 83 of the Strategy requires the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to report to me by the end of the second quarter of each year on the implementation of the 126 actions in the Strategy, all of which identify the lead agency responsible for implementation and a target implementation date.

The report for the year 2008 is being finalised by the Road Safety Authority and will be presented to me shortly. However it is clear from communication with the RSA that substantial progress has been made on the annual Actions and those specifically for 2008. More than half have been completed and substantial progress has been made on the majority of the rest.

It may be the case, over the course of an ambitious and challenging Road Safety Strategy, that some of the target dates are missed, even where work on the Actions themselves is underway, but we must not lose sign of the underlying achievement: road fatalities are falling and substantial progress is being made on all the key issues in relation to the safety of road users.