Ray Butler (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 423: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a review of the speed limit on a road (details supplied) in County Meath will be undertaken in view of the fact that the current limit is 80 km per hour, when other roads of lower quality and safety in the area have limits of 100 km per hour; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7296/11]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Statutory responsibility for the application of speed limits is vested in members of county and city councils.

The Road Traffic Act 2004 establishes default speed limits that apply to defined categories of roads and which can only be changed by county and city councils through the making of special speed limit bye-laws. Section 9 of the 2004 Act sets out the range of special speed limits that may be applied by local authorities through bye-laws. In accordance with actions identified in the Road Safety Strategy 2007 - 2012, my Department recently issued guidelines on speed limits to all local authorities. The onus is now on local authorities to take these guidelines into account in relation to the speed limits to be set for all roads in their area of responsibility.