7. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport the measures that he is taking to support the delivery of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, road safety strategy; if he will outline a timeline for associated enabling legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55358/22] 

Deputy Darren O'Rourke: What measures is the Minister taking to support the delivery of the RSA road safety strategy? I ask him to outline a timeline for associated enabling legislation. 

Minister of State at the Department of Transport (Deputy Hildegarde Naughton): I thank the Deputy. The primary aim of the Government's Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 is to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on Irish roads by 50%. As stated at the launch of the strategy in December 2021, this means reducing deaths on Ireland’s roads annually from 144 to 72 or lower and reducing serious injuries from 1,259 to 630 or lower by 2030. This will be the first step in Ireland’s journey towards realising Vision Zero, the international strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable and sustainable mobility for all by 2050. Implementation of this ambitious strategy is supported by a comprehensive set of 186 high-impact and supporting actions. The strategy will be delivered over three phases with action plans for each. I am happy to reassure the Deputy that my Department, in conjunction with stakeholders and associated Government agencies, is well under way in the delivery of phase 1 for 2021 to 2024. The subsequent phases 2 and 3 of the strategy and their associated actions will be developed in the six months leading up to the launch of each of those phases. This development will, in each case, take account of a review of the action outcomes of the preceding phase of the strategy. 

As I have no doubt the Deputy will agree, the delivery of an ambitious strategy such as this requires a robust governance structure, and I assure him that this is currently in place to support and enable what is essentially a transformative road safety programme. 

At the top of this framework sits the ministerial committee on road safety, which I chair jointly with the Minister for Justice. A senior officials' group, comprising senior figures from the key bodies charged with implementing the published road safety actions for each phase of the strategy, known as the road safety transformation partnership board, stands below the ministerial committee. This cross-departmental, multi-agency partnership board provides executive accountability, advice and quarterly updates to the ministerial committee on the delivery of the Government’s strategy. Both the ministerial committee and the road safety transformation partnership board meet quarterly. 

Supporting the road safety action owners charged with implementing various aspects of the strategy are a number of cross-agency enabler groups, including a legislative enabler group… 

… Deputy Darren O'Rourke: The road safety strategy calls for the maintenance of dedicated roads policing and a report on that capacity annually. That analysis could be done more frequently. There needs to be a focus on this issue and policing makes a serious difference, as we know. This is something we can and should do. 

There are a number of other measures to consider. We have seen an increasing number of people caught with poly drug use. There is a need for enabling legislation to allow for sanctions in that regard. Is that something the Minister of State will bring forward? There has been a consistent call for an online portal to allow people to upload footage from dashboards or helmet cameras. Will she consider that? 

On a related issue, the road hauliers have raised an issue in respect of the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021 relating to the national fleet database. Will the Minister of State meet with that group in advance of the remaining Stages of that Bill? 

Deputy Hildegarde Naughton: The Deputy asked about an online portal and drug testing. The Medical Bureau of Road Safety is also represented on that high-level ministerial group. Those areas were considered in the road safety strategy and we are making progress in that regard. 

I am in regular contact with the Irish Road Hauliers Association, IRHA, and the Freight Transit Association of Ireland, FTAI. Those organisations know that my door is always open for them to raise any issues with me. That is no problem. The Bill the Deputy mentioned is currently going through the Seanad. It has been approved by the Dáil and has passed Second Stage in the Seanad. We hope to proceed to Committee Stage as soon as possible. More enforcement measures are included in the Bill, which regulates e-scooters and e-bikes. It aims to eradicate antisocial behaviour related to scramblers through increased Garda powers and the seizure and banning of the use of scramblers. Those are just a few of the relevant measures. Work is progressing on the legislative process.