Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 717: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason action number 35 of the 2007 to 2012 Road Safety Strategy has never taken place even though it had a completion date of the first quarter of 2009 and his Department is the designated implementation agency; if he will confirm that it will take at least one year to complete this review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32278/12]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Under Action 35 of the Road Safety Strategy, 2007-2012, my Department is committed to auditing and reporting on the appropriateness and consistency of speed limits across the road network at regular intervals. The audit is designed to examine and improve, where necessary and appropriate, the application by local authorities of speed limits and speed limit signage throughout the country, in accordance with my Department's "Guidelines for the Application of Special Speed Limits" which issued to all road authorities last year, as provided for under Action 34 of the Strategy. To assist with the audit, my Department requested all local authorities to provide information in relation to the current approach to the setting of speed limits and to speed limit signage.

Earlier this year, I announced that a review of speed limits would be undertaken and my Department has established a stakeholder Working Group to progress this work. The Automobile Association, An Garda Síochána, the Road Safety Authority, the National Roads Authority, representatives of local authorities and the National Transport Authority have accepted my invitation to participate in the Working Group, which has met on two occasions since its formal establishment. As the Deputy will appreciate, this is a very complex issue which requires detailed consideration as it involves a broad review of general speed limits, along with the specific limits in place on certain roads. Additional meetings are scheduled to take place during the coming months and the Group hopes to have made substantial progress before the end of 2012.