Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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53. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason there are two vacancies on the Board of the Road Safety Authority that arose on 1 January 2024, given the alarming increase in road deaths; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24245/24]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Board of the Road Safety Authority shall consist of a chairperson and between six and eleven ordinary members. The quorum of the Board is set at five members, and the current composition of the board fulfils all legislative requirements. There are, therefore, no vacancies on the Board, though its membership is currently two fewer than at the end of 2023.

In accordance with the Department’s obligations under the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, the Department has commissioned an external independent review of the Road Safety Authority. The overall objective of this review is to conduct a thorough and comprehensive examination of the organisational structures, funding model, service provision and strategic goals to ensure the Authority is structured appropriately in the years ahead to fulfil its statutory mandate and in the context of delivering the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030.

Pending the outcome of this review, it is prudent to defer any board appointments to ensure that any appointees to the board reflect the review's recommendations in terms of the RSA's oversight and governance structures and skills mix on the board itself. Following the appointment of two new members to the Board in November 2023, a panel remains in place until November of this year from which potential appointments may be quickly made following the conclusion of the Review, and which can also be drawn on if a current member of the Board must be replaced at short notice.

The Deputy may also be interested to note that my Department this week published a call for expressions of interest for appointees to the new Road User Safety Forum. The Forum is intended to comprise a wide range of different road user perspectives, including road safety advocates, and will be a key consultative body during the development of the Phase 2 Action Plan underpinning the Government's Road Safety Strategy from 2025 to 2027.