Acting Chairperson (Senator Alison Comyn): The next item is statements on road safety. I call the Minister of State.

Jerry Buttimer, Minister of State at the Department of Transport: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. Is onóir dom a bheith i bhur láthair do na ráitis anocht. I thank the Acting Chairperson for allowing me the opportunity to address the issue of road safety matters.

As Members know full well, travel is an essential component of social and economic life. It needs to be available, accessible, sustainable and, above all, safe. The Government is committed to reducing road deaths and creating safer roads for everyone in Ireland. I am sad to report that as of this morning, there had been 35 fatalities on Irish roads this year. That is 35 lives lost. We offer our sympathies to the families of those who have tragically lost their lives. While this statistic marks an improvement of almost 30% on the same period last year, each statistic is a person who is a member of a family in a community. It is a tragedy in the lives of those affected and their family, friends and wider community.

As Members will be aware, the four causes of road fatalities are speeding, distraction, not wearing a seatbelt and intoxicated driving, all of which come down to driver behaviour and personal responsibility on the part of the road user. Speeding remains one of the greatest risk factors on our roads. One in four drivers thinks that speeding by 10 km/h or more over the limit is acceptable. The Road Traffic Act 2024 legislated for safer default speed limits on various parts of Ireland's road network. On 7 February, new default limits of 60 km/h came into effect on rural and local roads. Further phases will seek to implement safer default limits on national secondary roads and urban roads.

High levels of mobile phone usage by drivers in Ireland have been reported.

Research indicates that approximately one in four motorists are not only checking their phone but writing messages while driving. Worryingly, research also carried out by the University of Galway among young drivers found that many use their mobile phones while driving in an habitual manner and most believe there is no risk at all of being caught doing so. This is a dangerous norm we must not allow to take hold on our roads.

Members will know that in a nationally representative survey conducted last year, 11% of motorists said they had driven after consuming an alcoholic drink and 1% of motorists said they had driven after consuming illicit drugs in the past 12 months. The Road Traffic Act 2024, signed into law last April, and the subsequent introduction of mandatory drug testing at the scene of serious collisions in May was a systemic intervention in relation to drug driving. Drivers should be aware that gardaí throughout the country can now rapidly test for the presence of drugs and drugs can stay in your system many times longer than alcohol...

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