Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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236. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the rising number of fatalities on Irish roads since 2013; and if he has liaised with the Department of Justice and Equality on the need to have full-time traffic police focusing solely on traffic law enforcement and road safety. [2897/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Every fatality on Irish roads is a tragedy. It is a cause of deep concern that road fatalities rose in 2013 and in 2014, despite the best efforts of the Road Safety Authority, the Gardaí and other responsible agencies.   

The Road Safety Strategy 2013 to 2020 contains 144 Actions to be implemented by the various agencies concerned in order to build on the previous Strategies with the objective of making Ireland among the safest countries for road safety.  My officials and I meet regularly with these agencies to ensure that all necessary measures are identified and taken to improve safety on our roads.  The Ministerial Committee on Road Safety meets twice per year, most recently on 8 December 2014, to review implementation of the Strategy.   

Aside from the Strategy, the Road Traffic Act 2014, was signed into law by the President on 25th February 2014.  This legislation introduces measures which will further contribute to road safety in the years to come. The Act provides for further Graduated Driver Licensing measures, adjustments to the penalty points system, increasing demerits for the most dangerous offences such as speeding and operating a mobile phone while driving.  My officials are also in the early stages of drafting the Road Traffic Bill 2015 which will contain further measures to improve safety on our roads.

I am satisfied that the actions set out in the Road Safety Strategy will be sufficient to allow Ireland to improve road safety and to make progress towards the objectives of reducing road deaths set out in the Strategy.   

I would point out that all Gardai have responsibility for the enforcement of road traffic laws.  More specifically, the Garda Traffic Corps has been established for some 10 years and has made an important contribution to the improvement in road traffic law enforcement and road safety over the past decade.