Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

216. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport whether a safety audit has been conducted of the blanket lowering of speed limits across the country, given that lower speeds will in certain areas lead to more overtaking by frustrated drivers; and if an analysis has been conducted of how this measure will affect road safety. [3188/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Ireland’s Government Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030 has the aim of reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on Irish roads by 50% by 2030. International research indicates that speed is a contributory factor in a third of fatal collisions, and that reducing speed significantly reduces road deaths.

Under the Phase 1 action plan for the Strategy , a working group of relevant stakeholders and subject matter experts was convened to review speed limits and to make recommendations to help set consistent and appropriate speed limits across the road network. The working group comprised the Department of Transport, Road Safety Authority (RSA), An Garda Síochána, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the National Transport Authority (NTA), and the County and City Management Association (CCMA).

The Speed Limit Review was presented to Government and published in September 2023. The final report concluded that protecting vulnerable road users must be a key focus when setting speed limits.

In April 2024, the Road Traffic Act 2024 was signed into law and included provisions to amend the default speed limits on rural, local roads, urban roads and national secondary roads. The structure of speed limit law in Ireland is that national legislation sets default speed limits for different classes of roads. Local Authorities may then make changes to the default by setting ‘special speed limits’ for given roads in their areas. Recent legislation establishes a safer baseline for speed limits on affected road classes but has not diminished the important devolved role for Local Authorities to vary speed limits under their jurisdiction, where this is appropriate. The Department of Transport issued new guidelines to Local Authorities in early 2024 to assist them with this process.

On Friday February 7th, the default speed limit on rural local roads will change from 80 kilometres per hour to 60 kilometres per hour. Some rural local roads will retain the 80km/h limit, where the Local Authority has set a ‘special speed limit’ different from the new default speed limit. This will have been carried out through the statutory consultation process, and in accordance with the Road Traffic Acts and the statutory ‘Guidelines for Managing and Setting Speed Limits in Ireland’. As set out in the ‘Guidelines’ – “The setting of speed limits is primarily driven by road safety, the need to reduce collisions and their severity and to gain consistency in the setting of suitable limits to ensure road speeds are appropriate to their environment”.

Countries across Europe including France and the UK have lowered speed limits on certain road types in recent years. Subsequent research has indicated that reducing speed limits contributed to a 10% reduction in road fatalities in France, and contributed to a reduction in insurance costs in the UK.

As with all speed limits, it is an offence to exceed the stated limit and enforcement is a matter for An Garda Síochána. The Department of Transport has been working with An Garda Síochána to ensure they are ready to implement the new limits.