97. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Transport the steps he is taking to reduce road deaths and improve road safety on Irish roads; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2818/26]

Deputy Mark Ward: I agree with the Minister that last year was an absolutely terrible year for road deaths in our country. The number of road deaths has been steadily increasing. What steps is the Minister of State taking to reduce road deaths and improve road safety?

Seán Canney, Minister of State at the Department of Transport: I thank the Deputy. I extend my condolences and those of the Government to those who lost a loved one on our roads in 2025. With 190 lives lost, it was the worst year on our roads since 2014 and a sobering call to action for all of us to do more to make our roads safer.

Reducing deaths and serious injuries is an all-of-society challenge. It is a priority for me, as Minister of State, and for this Government. This priority is made clear by our investment. Budget 2026 provides a record €1.7 billion for investment in our roads, helping to deliver safer roads infrastructure. In addition, €360 million has been allocated for investment in active travel, helping to make walking and cycling safer modes of travel. The Road Safety Authority has again been directed to ring-fence a budget of €18 million for investment in public awareness, communications and education campaigns.

Last July, I published the phase 2 action plan of the road safety strategy. It includes 12 primary and 77 supporting actions aimed at delivering transformative change. Concrete recent actions include the introduction of a safer default speed limit of 60 km/h on rural roads, which affects 80% of our national road network. That was brought in last February. In October, local authorities were instructed to review speed limits in their urban areas and, where appropriate, introduce a 30 km/h limit. They have been directed to complete this work and implement the new limits by 31 March 2027.

Long-standing issues are being addressed, such as individuals repeatedly renewing a learner permit without sitting a driver test. Regulations are now in place to end this practice, with the changes coming into effect in November.

Legislative changes are progressing. The Government has approved the general scheme of the national vehicle and driver file Bill, which is targeted for enactment in the first half of this year. Among other measures, the Bill will restore direct collision data-sharing with local authorities. My officials are developing the next road traffic Bill to fulfil key programme for Government commitments, including in relation to graduated speeding penalties and camera-based enforcement of mobile phone and seatbelt offences.

Deputy Mark Ward: I join the Minister of State in extending thoughts and deepest sympathies to the 190 families whose loved ones lost their lives on Irish roads last year and the three people who have died so far this year. These are not just statistics and numbers; they are real families who had real lives and it has a big impact on entire communities. There is a crisis level of fatalities and collisions at the moment. I commend the Garda roads policing unit on its work on detection and enforcement but it needs proper resourcing. It is as simple as that.

There are issues with driver behaviour and drivers making conscious bad decisions about what they do and how they get behind the wheel. Drug driving is becoming a real problem. The substances and drugs people take before they get behind the wheel are ever changing. As drugs and people's behaviour are always changing, does the Minister of State have any plans to amend the Road Traffic Act to include other substances for roadside testing?

Deputy Seán Canney: The Deputy makes a very important point. The four major causes of collisions on our roads are speeding; driving under the influence of alcohol or drug substances; not wearing a seatbelt; and distraction through the use of a mobile phone or all the technology in a car, which is more like an office than a vehicle to get from A to B. There are many issues we have to deal with but the Road Traffic Act is looking at all of these to consolidate what we can into more relevant legislation to deal with the challenges we have.

I commend the Garda. We do not have enough gardaí doing roads policing but the numbers are increasing. I thank the Deputy for his acknowledgement of the work they do. It is very effective and they will continue to do that. I have had discussions with the Garda Commissioner and deputy commissioner on this. As numbers increase in the force, we will see more visibility on the ground as well.

Deputy Mark Ward: I will return to drug driving. A number of people have contacted me about people driving cars while inhaling nitrous oxide through balloons. This behaviour is idiotic and dangerous. The people doing that need to cop on. Nitrous oxide is commonly known as laughing gas. It cuts oxygen to the brain and is an extremely dangerous substance generally; behind the wheel, it is absolutely lethal. I was on a debate on "Prime Time" with a colleague of the Minister of State recently and we heard of the death of a young man by a hit-and-run driver. The driver was suspected of being under the influence of nitrous oxide. There have been a number of deaths across Europe associated with driving under the influence of nitrous oxide.

I wrote to the Minister of State last week and got the answer this week. I asked him to amend the Road Traffic Act to include nitrous oxide on the list of intoxicants for roadside testing. His response was he has no plans to do this. Will he reconsider this position?

Deputy Seán Canney: Absolutely. It is being considered. I did not see that reply going out. We have a huge amount of work to do to update our legislation on road safety. However, going back to the point the Deputy made, personal behaviour is vital. We will provide the legislation and enforcement. At the end of the day, if somebody makes a conscious decision to sit in a car and do the wrong thing, it is very difficult to deal with that. The public must know there are consequences - not just a collision happening, the outcome of which could be death. Last year, there were 190 cases of that. We never talk about the people injured to a life-changing extent and who continue to live with that.

I thank the Deputy for his question. This is not a political issue. It is an issue we need to continue to address together in this House and to be forceful with.