66. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Transport if he will provide an update on the work plan for 2024 by his Department, in conjunction with other agencies, to improve road safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4580/24]

Jack Chambers, Minister of State at the Department of Transport: The Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030 has the target of reducing road deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030 and achieving Vision Zero by 2050.

The second annual review of the Road Safety Strategy took place in recent weeks, where road safety partners and agencies reviewed progress in the context of reversing the alarming trends in road fatalities. In addition to closing out Phase 1 of the strategy in 2024, I have prioritised certain actions for the coming year, including development of a national strategy for camera-based enforcement, addressing the multiple learner permit issue and extending and expanding road user education.

Following the publication of the Speed Limit Review last September, work has commenced on implementation of the recommendations with road safety partners, including Local Authorities. My officials are working on guidelines and legislation to give effect to these recommendations as soon as possible.

As part of implementing the Speed Limit Review, the Road Traffic Bill 2024 is expected to be enacted before the end of March. This a concise and focused piece of legislation introducing safer default speed limits on national secondary roads, rural roads and in built up areas, mandatory drug testing at the scene of serious traffic collisions and reforming the penalty points system so motorists receive multiple sets of penalty points where multiple offences are committed.

Options are also being considered for a campaign to encourage fleet owners to install alcohol interlock devices in their vehicles. Furthermore, and in response to the rising trend in fatalities through 2023, last October my Department conveyed sanction for the Road Safety Authority to spend additional funds on increased public awareness campaigns.

Road safety is a foremost priority for me.  Everyone is entitled to use our roads and, importantly, to be safe on our roads.

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Dáil Éireann debate. Question 199 – Departmental reviews [4891/24]

199. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport the anticipated timeline in relation to proposed speed limit reviews; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4891/24]

Jack Chambers, Minister of State at the Department of Transport: A key objective of the Speed Limit Review was to align speed limits with the 'Safe System' approach to managing safety on the road network. The Safe System approach is a means of managing and developing the road network so that it is forgiving of human error and mitigates serious collisions by design. The commitment in the review is to implement the recommendations over a 2-year period, and noting the nature and complexity of the recommendations, it will be necessary to do so on a phased basis across that time.

The Road Traffic Bill 2024 was published on 25 January. This Bill will address speed limits, penalty points, and testing of drivers for drugs. In the case of speed limits, it will implement the central recommendations of the Speed Limit Review in relation to safer default speed limits. The default limits on national secondary roads will be reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h, on local roads from 80km/h to 60km/h, and on roads in built-up areas from 50km/h to 30km/h. Reducing speed has been fundamentally proven to significantly reduce the risk of death or serious injury in road collisions. The World Health Organisation has estimated that a 5% reduction in average speed could result in a 30% reduction in fatal collisions. Furthermore, the evidence shows that 50% of pedestrians struck by a vehicle travelling at 60km/h will be killed, compared to 29% of pedestrians struck by a vehicle travelling at 50km/h and 5% of pedestrians struck by a vehicle travelling at 30km/h.

In addition to the Bill, my Department has commenced work on updating the Guidelines for Managing Speed Limits in Ireland.  The update will seek to address matters relating to the default speed limits in support of the Bill. 

Although transition arrangements will be required, any work currently underway in relation to ongoing local authority reviews should continue where possible and where such proposals are consistent with the recommendations of the review.