Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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195. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the criteria for establishing a 30 km speed limit in a residential area under existing legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19774/14]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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196. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if it is possible for dense urban residential areas (details supplied) to be designated as 30 km per hour zones; if not if he will consider amending the legislation to provide for such areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19775/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 196 together.

The Road Traffic Act 2004 provides that elected members of County and City Councils may make bye-laws in order to set special speed limits to roads in their administrative area. The application of the special speed limits must be in accordance with issued by the Department for Transport, Tourism and Sport in 2011.

A 30 km/h speed limit may only be applied at locations where there is a current or expected concentration of vulnerable road users. For that reason, its general application is limited to housing estates, roads in urban centres with no distributor function and access ramps to motorways or dual carriageways with low radii curves.

As part of the process of making Special Speed Limit bye-laws, Local Authorities must first consider the level of concentration of vulnerable road users and evidence of road collisions in which vulnerable road users were involved. Local Authorities must also undertake a public consultation on the draft proposals seeking observations from the public or other interested parties.