David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 31: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will advise on the progress that has been made by the Road Safety Authority on their study of the Irish collision database based on the methodology of a study carried out in UK (details supplied) to examine the effects of daylight saving time on road safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16846/12]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 57: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the discussions he has had with the Road Safety Authority regarding their assessment of the effect of changes to daylight saving time here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16845/12]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 57 together.

At its meeting in October 2011, the Road Safety Authority's Policy Advisory Panel reviewed the publication "An investigation into the effects of British Summer Time on road traffic accident casualties in Cheshire" which was published in 1996 in the Journal of Accidents and Emergency Medicine. The Panel found that it would be a suitable methodology to carry out an assessment of the effect of changes to Daylight Saving Time in Ireland.

I understand that the Authority is currently replicating the Cheshire Study and expects to conclude a report on the matter by the end of May 2012. Public consultations on these findings, and perhaps their submission to the Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht for consideration, might be appropriate at that stage.

This research will help provide an evidence base from a road safety perspective for any future consideration of this issue.