Youth Unemployment
1. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if his attention has been drawn to the rising rates of youth unemployment; the strategies he is developing to address this issue; if his attention has been drawn specifically to the causes of unemployment for the 18- to 24-year-old cohort; the extent to which he has investigated the impact of automation and AI on the youth labour market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15402/26]
My question, as the Minister will see, is simple and straightforward. I hope he has plenty of very enlightening answers for me. The question concerns the issue of youth unemployment and, in particular, the impact of automation and AI, which is causing a bit of what might be called a bottleneck. Where previously there would have been a pipeline to move through, a lot of younger people are getting stuck because jobs they would traditionally have moved into are now being done by AI and automated in other ways.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist thábhachtach seo. According to the latest labour force survey, which was released by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, on 19 February, employment has been increasing for young people, standing at 323,200, which is up 6,000 over the past year. Reflecting this, the youth unemployment rate of 9.8% in quarter 4 of 2025 is lower than a year earlier, when the rate was at 9.9%.
It is important to note that youth employment is in most economies generally about twice the level of unemployment. This is because youth labour data is impacted by participation in education.
When participation in education is taken into account, the results of the survey also show that the rate of those not in education, employment or training stands at 6.3%. This rate includes not just young unemployed people but also younger people who may be disabled. The rate remains low by historical standards and compares favourably. However, I am concerned about the rate.
I also agree with the Deputy's concerns about AI. However, as with earlier forms of technological progress, while AI will displace jobs, it will also create jobs and in doing so increase productivity, the gains from which will be reflected in general economic performance. It is too early to say with any confidence what the balance of these effects will be, though historical experience indicates that the gains may be more significant than the losses.
That said, the expert group on future skills needs published a recent report which highlighted our leading global position in relation to AI. It highlighted a strong demand for workers with AI skills and indicated that the adoption of AI presents considerable potential for Ireland's employment and labour market. The Department of Finance has also published research on this subject. It has identified the at-risk sectors as being the ICT, financial, professional, scientific and technical sectors. It noted, which supports the Deputy's contention, that the impact of AI was likely to be more concentrated in entry-level jobs. We are monitoring these developments closely. I will get a chance to speak about the Pathways to Work process in my next response.
That will be welcome. A number of factors need to be considered. I welcome the fact that the Minister is concerned because I am, too. I feel that when we are both concerned about something, we might be able to do something about it, which would be good.
I welcome publication of the report into AI. However, there is an issue. Youth unemployment is rising at a faster rate than that of the general population. Therefrom comes both of our concerns. What is needed is a bespoke programme for younger people. We are heading into a period where we may experience some unemployment. I feel that now is the time to get ready for that, with the specific needs of younger people in mind, and acknowledge, as the National Youth Council of Ireland has pointed out, the bottleneck that exists whereby people are unable to move on to more fulfilling or different jobs.
The other issue is that of underemployment. A lot of younger people who are working have the capacity to work more but cannot get that work.
I thank the Deputy. I confirm that we are monitoring all AI developments very closely. We are doing so in the context of developing the successor strategy to Pathways to Work. That strategy will include priorities for younger people. We expect it will be published in quarter 2 of this year.
We have made some changes. I particularly draw the attention of the Deputy to the changes in Tús. The Tús work placement scheme is being extended to 18-year-olds who are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or who are the beneficiaries of temporary protection, and those people who are assessed as having a low probability of being able to access work in the open labour market after they meet an employment personal adviser. Some 150 people have availed of this option and it is already being found to be particularly effective following a review undertaken jointly by us, the OECD and the European Commission. We will explore the potential for it to expand, with a specific focus on those who may have difficulties in securing employment.
Our teams in Intreo are engaging closely and intensely with younger jobseekers to try to get them onto courses and into supports at the youngest possible age to avoid the chances of them being detached from the labour market.
I thank the Minister. He mentioned that Intreo staff are engaging intensely. He might provide me with a note on the type of engagement and where it is that Intreo is directing people. We know that 50,000 young workers are either working part time or on low-hours contracts. In some instances, much and all as they should not be, they are on zero-hours contracts.
I met representatives of the National Youth Council of Ireland. They are saying clearly that there is not just youth unemployment, which is an issue and which I feel is a bit of a canary in a coalmine, as I have said previously, but there is also the issue of underemployment. If we look at the statistics, we will see that 18% of 25-year-olds had to go back to their parents' houses after attempting to live on their own and 43% have never left. Clearly, there is an issue. We have all been 25, albeit that it was a long time ago, and you do not necessarily want to be living with your parents at that age. I do not think that figure represents people who are happy to be at home. Those are people who are stuck at home. That needs to be examined.
I will certainly provide that information to the Deputy. The range of supports that Intreo advisers use includes Springboard+ and identifying Springboard+ opportunities. It provides free and sometimes heavily subsidised education for in-demand skill areas. We can match courses to people's skills and abilities.
SOLAS continues to provide focused training programmes. There is also the work placement experience programme. With the back-to-work enterprise scheme allowance, I am encouraging people to set up their own businesses. That is something I am very passionate about. I will be asking the Department to focus on supporting people through the journey of setting up their own businesses, giving people options and, most importantly, providing the supports to go through that. We also have the short-term enterprise allowance.
There is a range of schemes there. I will engage with the National Youth Council of Ireland about how we package those schemes in a way that can be understood, and understand how they are relevant to the current demands of the labour market and the pressures that are on people. I will come back to the Deputy about underemployment.
Disability Issues
2. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on his engagement with disabled persons' organisations; the consultation he is undertaking on the cost-of-disability support payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15656/26]
Last week, the Minister announced that a public consultation is to take place on the cost of disability. Will he confirm that this is with a view to introducing a permanent cost-of-disability support payment in budget 2027? As part of that consultation discussion with disabled persons' organisations, will the Minister withdraw his comments on their lived experiences in saying that their accounts of their experiences were misleading and dangerous?
I thank the Deputy. The Government recognises the additional costs that are associated with having a disability. We are committed to improving outcomes for disabled people. The programme for Government includes a range of commitments to support disabled people, which includes a commitment to introduce an annual cost-of-disability support payment. In addition, under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which was developed with significant input from disability groups and their advocates, it was agreed to establish a strategic focus network summit on the cost of disability. While that is led by my Department, it will include other Government Departments. This is a cross-government endeavour and I will be hosting the summit on 13 May 2026.
Departmental officials meet regularly with representatives of disability organisations bilaterally as part of regular meetings with the community and voluntary pillar and in a dedicated disability consultative forum. Disability groups are also represented at the annual pre-budget forum, the post-budget briefing and the annual social inclusion forum.
Since October 2025, my officials have met several groups, including disabled persons and disabled persons' organisations, to discuss the cost of disability. In December, the cost-of-disability strategic focus network was the main agenda item of my Department's disability consultative forum. Officials from across the Government were in attendance at this meeting. I met representatives of the disability consultative forum yesterday, which gave me an opportunity to engage directly with them on many of these issues.
Last Friday, 20 February, I launched the public consultation process on how a cost-of-disability payment and a strategic focus network summit can best be delivered. It will run for over six weeks and will close on 7 April. We are inviting members of the public to participate in the consultation by submitting written, video or telephone contributions. That consultation is open to everybody, with particular encouragement for disabled people and their families and carers, disabled persons' organisations and representative groups. I encourage any interested party to visit gov.ie/cod. To date, we have had over 80 submissions and we have tried to design the consultation to ensure the biggest accessible format available. We are open to input.
I thank the Minister. I genuinely welcome his engagement with the disabilities organisations. The question I have is how that engagement has been going. We put forward the emergency winter payment motion, which has been supported by those disabilities organisations. Has that come up at those meetings? Has it come up in the consultations so far?
It is important to note the rebuttal given by the Minister, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste. They pointed to the supplementary welfare schemes as something that people could avail of if they were in dire straits and choosing between heat and food. Notably, only 3,000 people availed of that payment last year. The emergency winter payment, as proposed, would affect 300,000 people. What is the Government doing for the other 297,000 people this year? They are suffering under the cost of disability.
I ask for a second time if the Minister will withdraw the hurtful and disgraceful remarks he made about the lived experience of people with disabilities in the recent past.
First, those remarks were not aimed at people with disabilities. They were aimed at political parties that are trying to weaponise the issue.
What we are saying is the truth.
Supports are available but we want to do a lot more on this. That is why we are putting a huge amount of work into a permanent payment. The cost-of-disability summit in May will produce a briefing paper. I intend to bring that to the Government as part of the budget 2027 negotiations. We are only at the end of February and the budget negotiations are not yet under way. This issue will be my priority going into those discussions. I invite Deputy Hayes and all the political parties to take part in the submission process, as Deputy O'Reilly has indicated she will do, and to put forward their views on what a permanent cost-of-disability payment might look like and how it should be structured.
We had a very good engagement with the groups yesterday. They continue to pursue an emergency winter payment but my focus is on fulfilling the programme for Government commitment to introduce a permanent payment rather than a temporary, one-off, year-to-year payment.
The House should be aware that a protest will take place this Saturday against the failure to deliver the emergency winter payment. The disability organisations, despite meeting with the Minister and his officials several times, have called for that protest, which I will attend.
There is a conversation happening about a permanent cost-of-disability payment and I really welcome that as a direction of travel. However, there was no repeat in budget 2026 of the €400 payment in budget 2025. The Minister is saying that from budget 2027 on, there will be a payment. The lived experience of disabled people is that they had a one-off non-payment in budget 2026. I ask the Minister for the third time: will he withdraw his hurtful and disgraceful remarks about the lived experiences of people with disabilities? They were derisory and it was deeply upsetting for many people with disabilities to hear that is what the Minister for Social Protection thinks of their lived experience.
As I said, we are focused on a permanent payment, not a temporary payment from budget to budget. We are focused on getting the design right and on involving as many voices as possible to ensure we consider as many ideas as possible in order to get it right. We had very good and constructive discussions about this with the disabled persons' organisations yesterday. We want to ensure the summit in May is a practical, focused and business-like event. Certainly for me, it will not be a tick-the-box event. We genuinely want to hear from people and get their input into the design of the payment. We will use all the feedback from that process during the budget 2027 discussions. At that point, it will be my priority. We are well away from any budget preparations or commitments but, as I continue to assure the Deputy, it is my priority and we will go into the process looking to deliver it. The proposal we deliver will be one that is owned and shared by those with disabilities and their families, carers, representative organisations and advocates.
Social Welfare Rates
3. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to equalise the youth jobseeker’s rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15403/26]
This question relates to the youth rates of jobseeker's payments and whether the Minister has any plans to equalise them. Coming from a trade union background, we always said there should be equal pay for work of equal value. However, for those dependent on a social welfare payment, it would be wrong to assume it is pin money or is somehow not relevant to the young person and his or her family.
Age-related rates apply to persons aged between 18 and 24 in receipt of a jobseeker's payment. However, young jobseekers can receive the full adult payment if they participate in training and employment programmes. This is the correct approach, which will help to minimise the scarring effects that extended periods of activity can sometimes have on the long-term prospects and well-being of young people. Age-related rates are not applied to all young adults. Exemptions apply to those with dependent children, those previously in the care of Tusla or living independently and those in receipt of State housing supports such as the housing assistance payment, HAP.
At the end of January 2026, 11,850 people were on reduced rates of €163.70. My priority, rather than adjusting payment rates, is to give young people the best possible chance to participate in the labour market, as we have just discussed. Supporting young people to take up employment, education and training opportunities can enhance their employment prospects over time, as well as their ability to earn an adequate income to support themselves and their families into the future. If young jobseekers participate in education or training, they receive up to the maximum personal rate of jobseeker's allowance of €254. If they participate in a work placement experience programme, that weekly rate can increase to €369.
As I said previously, we are currently finalising our work on the successor to the previous Pathways to Work strategy. As part of that strategy, I am determined to ensure that young people continue to be prioritised through education, training and employment supports. Accordingly, and in line with the reinforced youth guarantee, my Department continues to work to ensure young jobseekers receive a good-quality offer of employment, education or training within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving education. The current approach strikes the right balance in supporting young people into employment. I have no plans to change the rates for young jobseekers at this time.
My constituency has the youngest population in the State. Youth unemployment is rising at three times the rate for the general population, as we have discussed, and constituencies like mine will feel that the hardest. A total of 18% of 25-year-olds went back to their parents' house after attempting to live on their own and 43% have never left. This means 60%-plus of young adults remain in their family home. The Minister referenced the need for bespoke strategies. I hope to hear more from him about that in the coming weeks and months. As we have discussed, the labour market is changing. It is not simply the case that young workers need to be incentivised; they need to be trained and equipped to be able to participate in the workplace. The Minister mentioned extended periods of inactivity. There was a bit of a bang of Norman Tebbit off that comment. I do not think anybody enjoys a period of extended inactivity. Young people want to be in work but there must be recognition that some of them will need help with that.
I assure the Deputy I do not want to give off any suggestion of the person she mentioned. We want young people to remain connected to the labour market, to avail of the employment and training opportunities and, more importantly, to avail of opportunities that are suited to their skills and interests as opposed to going through generic schemes. We went through the options earlier, including Springboard and the new changes to the Tús scheme. We want to ensure young jobseekers can receive a higher payment if they participate in training and employment programmes. I know that 99% of them want to do so but there can be challenges in terms of transport and accessing appropriate courses. We are trying to address those challenges as well. As outlined, a young jobseeker participating in education or training can receive up to the maximum personal rate. For participants in the workplace experience scheme, the weekly rate increases to up to €369. We certainly will be focusing on Pathways to Work, which I will have a chance to talk about in my reply to a later question.
The purpose of jobseeker's payments and other social welfare benefits should be to help people to get back on their feet and back into the labour market. However, having subminimum reduced rates for younger people cuts them off and leaves them further adrift. The two-tier element is not a good thing. I appreciate that the full rates are available for those participating in training and employment opportunities but the Minister needs to take a long, hard look at the reasons for non-participation. Very often, it is not from an unwillingness, as he acknowledged. Young people do not want to be disconnected from the labour market. What is happening is that they find themselves cut off because of a lack of transport and, as a consequence of the low rates, because they cannot get themselves out of where they are. I am very conscious that there is a poverty trap for younger people. It is not good to have a two-tier system with different rates. I come from the perspective of believing our young people want to be in work and to be productive. They just sometimes need a hand to get there.
I agree. We want to avoid people, particularly at a young age, falling into that poverty trap. We want to keep them connected to the labour market, which we all agree is changing rapidly. That is why extra payments are given to those in training and on work experience. As I said, we are working on a new Pathways to Work strategy.
We have had over 430 submissions. We had five stakeholder forum events across the country. We have also met our colleagues in government and in other agencies of Government. We are developing the draft document. I am certainly very much keeping an eye on the changing pattern of labour and the challenges of labour. As a former Minister of State at the Department of enterprise with a particular interest in the digital space, I am very much looking at where those trends are going.
Going back to the reports from the Department of Finance and the future skills group I mentioned earlier, I want to ensure we have appropriate training and appropriate opportunities in place for people regardless of where they live in the country.
Question No. 4 taken with Written Answers.
Energy Prices
5. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection his engagement with the CRU, or energy providers, in relation to pay-as-you-go, or hardship metres; to detail the full extent of this engagement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15404/26]
My question relates to the engagement the Minister has had with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, or the energy providers, or hopefully both, in relation to pay-as-you-go meters, or as they are sometimes called, hardship meters. We had a discussion yesterday at committee in relation to a particular incident. I will not ask the Minister to comment on that but there is an issue of what I would call microdisconnections. If people on a prepay meter are on the vulnerable register, it is meaningless because they will get cut off.
I thank the Deputy. She was going to send me some details in relation to the case yesterday because I want to make sure that situation does not arise again.
The lead role in relation to the engagement with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities or energy providers in relation to pay-as-you-go meters is a matter for the Department of climate. While we have no function in this space, it is an area that we support people in. The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment has advised that the electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a EU regulatory regime whereby electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised and competitive. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities is an independent statutory regulator and is accountable for the performance of its function to the Oireachtas. That being said, our primary role as a Department is to provide financial support to those households that require help with energy costs.
As regards to income supports, my Department provides a range of schemes to assist with costs. We have increased the fuel allowance this year. We have increased the qualification for the fuel allowance to those on the working family payment, which will kick in from this week on. Other forms of assistance include the household benefits package, the heating supplement and additional needs payments.
I will engage with the Deputy in relation to the experience we discussed at committee yesterday. Arising from that engagement, I intend to update the guidance we issue to our offices around these pay-as-you-go meters, in particular. I also deal with them in my own constituency office. I recognise the challenges people using them face. I do not want a situation where people are without power unnecessarily. Supports should be given and made available to them. I look forward to working with the Deputy on this issue.
It is very expensive to be poor in this State, if a person finds themselves on a pay-as-you-go meter. I do not give a continental what the energy companies say. Many people are on those meters and they do not want to be. They either believe they have no choice or they are put onto them. They are then charged the most expensive rate of electricity. Thanks to my colleague, Lynn Boylan MEP, we learned in the newspapers yesterday that domestic customers pay twice as much for their electricity as data centres do. It is easy to see where the Government's priorities are there. The people who are on pay-as-you-go meters, who are likely to be the poorest people in any community, are paying a higher rate. They are - forgive me Cathaoirleach Gníomhach - getting screwed and it is really unfair. These microdisconnections are happening every day of the week. There has to be a rapid access system for people so that they can keep the lights and the heat on.
In relation to getting access to supports, I certainly want to work with the Deputy on that, particularly for the pay-as-you-go meters. I would be concerned about the rates that are charged on those meters. I will engage again with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on this. We increased the fuel allowance by €5 from the 1 January this year. That is a weekly payment of €38 for 28 weeks, which supports over 460,000 households with their energy costs and that will be an investment of €486 million. The household benefits package in 2026 million will be further €230 million. The heating supplement is there to assist people with exceptional heating costs. We had a good discussion at the disability forum yesterday about improving information and getting more information out about the heating supplement and I will be acting on that. As we discussed at the social protection committee yesterday, we have additional needs payments but we need to work on the consistency around those payments and I will work with the Deputy on that.
I welcome that. It is good work to be done but the question was specifically about the engagement the Minister might have had with the CRU or the energy providers. I appreciate that he is going talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and I wish him the best with that with. However, it would also be important that the Minister would engage with the CRU. I do not think people are engaging with this issue. I see it, and I am sure the Minister sees it in his constituency clinic as well. I am not talking about a massive number of people but for them it is important. The case I spoke to the Minister about involves a young woman with two kids. Her electricity was going off at 2 o'clock. She could not access those supports, so she would have been in her house, cold. These are facts but they are microdisconnections; they are very small. I encourage the Minister to engage with the CRU. There is no rule that says he cannot. The CRU is the body with responsibility for regulation in this space. The energy companies are - with the greatest respect - the ones who have the responsibility for gouging these people. At the end of the day, it is the Department of Social Protection that will pick up the bill. At this stage, if the Minister could intervene with both of those bodies, that would be a very useful way to engage.
I agree. I am happy to have an engagement with the CRU but, obviously, it is not statutorily responsible. We could have an engagement in the context that I do not have any role but I do think this is an important issue. There needs to be some sort of understanding of the pressure families and homeowners are under with these pay-as-you-go meters. There can be situations of what the Deputy calls microdisconnections where people are left without power and heat, with minimum notice. I will engage with the CRU around this and will emphasise the need for further engagement in this space. I will also engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, who is generally very constructive on these issues.
I want to point out that we have made investments in this area. A total of €486 million has been allocated for fuel allowance, with €230.5 million for the household benefits and the extension of the fuel allowance to those on the working family payment from this month on. This the first time the fuel allowance has gone to people on low incomes, which I particularly welcome.
Social Welfare Payments
6. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has considered introducing additional protections or supports for people living with rare diseases, given the unique financial and social challenges they face; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15529/26]
Rare diseases collectively affect of thousands of people across our State. What makes the situation different is that the State's systems were never designed around lifelong, complex conditions that do not fit neat diagnostic or disability categories. Parents are becoming full-time carers, care co-ordinators and medical advocates, often overnight and, indeed, permanently, while simultaneously experiencing a collapse in their household incomes and a rise in unavoidable costs. They must repeatedly prove eligibility for assistance that measures disability in static terms.
I thank Deputy Roche for his question. My Department provides a range of income supports for those who are unable to work due to illness or disability, including those with rare diseases. These include non-contributory payments that are based on a needs test, such as disability allowance, but also contributory payments that are based on PRSI contributions, such as invalidity pension. Eligibility for these supports is not dependent on the type of a rare disease a person has but on the extent to which the particular condition impairs or restricts a person's capacity to work. The purpose of these payments is to provide income support for those with a condition that limits their ability to earn an income.
Rare diseases present unique challenges, and these differ from person to person. They can mean that a person is unable to work or only able to work part-time. My Department's income supports are designed to support a person to work where they can. For instance, disability allowance has an income disregard. This means a person can earn up to €527.60 and still keep a portion of their payment and the associated secondary benefits.
In addition, those who are on illness benefit for longer than six months or who are on invalidity pension can transfer to partial capacity benefit where they can work, earn unlimited income and still keep a percentage of their payment.
Under the national human rights strategy for disabled people, which was developed with significant input from disability groups and advocates, it was agreed to establish a strategic focus network summit on the cost of disability.
My Department is leading on this initiative but we also include other Government Departments in what is cross-government endeavour. It goes without saying that those who represent disabled people, disabled people themselves and their families, carers and advocates are also involved, and will play a full part in the consultation and in the summit on 13 May. I have launched a public consultation process on how a cost-of-disability payment and the strategic focus network can be best delivered, and I look forward to engaging with the Deputy and with the rare diseases group in the Oireachtas, through Deputy O'Sullivan, around supports that can be done there.
Many people living with rare diseases fall between multiple systems - health, disability and social protection. Approximately one in 17 people will live with a rare disease during their lifetime and, in many cases, these conditions are lifelong, disabling and involve frequent hospitalisations with one parent or carer leaving their employment entirely, yet many of these individuals struggle to qualify for disability supports, domiciliary care allowance or long-term illness-related benefits because assessment criteria were designed around the more typical disabilities and predictable conditions.
Has the Minister examined whether the existing social protection systems are appropriate for people with rare diseases, and will he consider additional tailored supports, including assessment flexibility or a dedicated pathway to reflect the unique financial or caring burdens faced by their families?
I am happy to engage with the Deputy and the rare diseases group around those issues and the proposals the group may have in relation to the systems within the Department. As I said in my response, we provide a range of supports for people who are unable to work due to illness or disability, and that includes people with rare diseases. Eligibility is not dependent on the type of rare disease but on how that disease impacts on a person’s ability to work and earn an income. The scheme already supports persons to work where they can. That is why we have an income disregard for the disability allowance. That income disregard is €527.60. That allows the person to work part-time within the confines of their condition if it affects their ability to work.
To come back to the meeting we had yesterday, we had a small discussion about the design of forms and the application process. That is something we are going to pursue. I am happy to engage with the Deputy in relation to that.
I appreciate the Minister’s honesty and his response. Most of us get representations into our constituency offices in that regard. I would have thought before arriving to this House that that would not be the norm but it is beginning to become the norm where we encounter people who have those very conditions, those rare diseases. It is imperative we find a model they can fit into and that their lives are not complicated any further. Having a rare disease can be quite complex, difficult and upsetting for families who find themselves having to manoeuvre through life with that rare disease.
Absolutely. We want to try to have a Department that helps people who have to manoeuvre through these conditions. One of my frustrations in public life is the way we silo people. That day needs to go in terms of the Department of Health doing one job, the Department of Social Protection doing another and the Department of disability doing another. That is why we are taking a whole-of-government approach to the summit on the cost of disability on 13 May. I am working with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and other colleagues to identify silos that are making people's difficult journey even more difficult. Those diagnosed with rare diseases have enough challenges to deal with without the State getting in their way and making that journey and challenge even more difficult. I am open to ideas from everybody in the House in relation to the schemes of the Department, how we design them and the application processes for them. We had a good discussion at the social protection committee yesterday around some areas and on how we can improve them. We are going to working on that as well.
Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
Deputy Whitmore's Question No. 93 is being taken by the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer. With the permission of the House, I will allow Deputy Whitmore to go first. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Road Traffic Accidents
93. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport if he intends to set a road deaths reduction target for phase 2 of Vision Zero; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16152/26]
We have seen an incredible loss of life on our roads over the past few days, never mind over the past year. Can the Minister of State let me know if he intends to set a road death reduction target for phase 2 of Vision Zero and will he make a statement on the matter?
We have seen an incredible loss of life this week and in the past number of years on our roads and our thoughts this morning are with the people who have died and were injured and the families. Everything we say is couched in that tragedy and loss of life, and I thank Deputy Whitmore for her very important question.
The Government has, as the Deputy will be aware, prioritised phase 2 of Vision Zero. The Government's current road safety strategy has the target of halving deaths and serious injuries on our roads this decade, or no more than 72 deaths by 2030. Achieving this reduction based on an annual straight-line projection, the phase 1 action plan published in 2021 noted that deaths in 2024 would have had to be no higher than 122. Regrettably, we saw 171 road deaths in 2024.
Any death on our roads is one too many and behind that death is a family, a loved one, a friend and a community where lives are being irreparably damaged by the loss of a loved one. Obviously, we are all working collectively and collaboratively to ensure that our roads are safer. Think of the people who have life-altering injuries from a road traffic collision. For these reasons, the only acceptable long-term target for road deaths and injuries is Vision Zero, and the Government remains committed to this goal.
Achieving our 2030 target will require even greater efforts and a steeper rate of decline during phases 2 and 3. It is imperative that we address the upward trend of recent years in the first instance and, in that context, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and I do not believe it would be helpful to set a specific target for next year when we already have a clear objective for 2030.
A range of important work is already under way across a variety of bodies and stakeholders to restore our long-term road safety progress, and we made huge progress on our annual road deaths, which saw a significant fall.
I thank the Minister of State.
I am conscious that today there are families bereaved and people injured. Everything we do, from a Department point of view, we will do to ensure that our roads are safer.
It seems that every day, or every second day, when we wake up there is the most tragic news that another person has lost their life on our roads. Each of those lives lost is avoidable. I would imagine the worst thing possible for any family is to get that call or that knock on the door to let them know their loved one has lost their life.
It feels that it is getting worse and worse. It seems that we are hearing of more people, and more young people. We had, unfortunately, another two young lives lost in Donegal, and my condolences to their families.
Already this year, 25 people lost their lives on our roads. Six of them were teenagers. We need to hear from the Minister of State what he is going to do to address that loss of life. This is within the Minister of State's remit. He has set a plan to have zero deaths on our roads. We are so far away from that.
Will the Minister of State please tell us what he is going to do?
The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, who is responsible for road safety, sends his apologies that he cannot be here today. He has engaged, as have I and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on a variety of areas.
The RSA has initiated a number of significant national public awareness campaigns on speed, drug driving, road safety for e-scooter users and motorcyclists, and road behaviour. I share the Deputy's concerns, but if I can make a generic point, we must look at this in the round and have an honest conversation about driver behaviour. Roads are now shared spaces and are not the preserve of one entity or group. They belong to all of us and we all have an obligation and responsibility.
I am not in any way casting dispersions on anybody. We all know people who have been injured or killed on our roads. We must look at enforcement and behaviour and, in particular, we must reflect upon speed, the use of drugs and the use of mobile phones. I will happily work with the Deputy, as will the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, on achieving a better outcome for us all. We all use the road and see the behaviour. The Department is putting pressure on the RSA to work and engage in campaigns.
There is no panacea to this. There are many issues involved, and the Minister is right that driver behaviour is one of them. However, the reality is that, as we have seen, some driver behaviour is very poor and unless there is enforcement and a fear of being caught for this behaviour on the road, it will continue. While there a lot of actions are needed, the absolute priority here is enforcement and the Minister of State barely mentioned enforcement in his response.
We need to ensure we have sufficient Garda numbers in the roads policing unit. In recent years, we have seen a 40% reduction in the roads policing unit. What conversations has the Minister of State had with the Minister for justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, on dealing with that issue? That is the crux of the matter. Until we get enforcement right, we will continue to see increases in the number of tragic deaths on our roads.
Enforcement is very important. However, we cannot have a garda on every street corner and junction, as the Deputy will accept. We are using technology and speed vans and increasing the use of average speed zones. The Department has invested in the safe routes to school programme and we have seen an increase in the number of gardaí on the roads engaged in enforcement. Just yesterday morning, when I was driving in here at 7.45 a.m., I saw a Garda Síochána checkpoint on Mount Street, which is very welcome. I take the Deputy's point and I will happily work with her on this.
The Department, working with the RSA and An Garda Síochána, will do whatever we can, but there comes a point when we have to talk to ourselves about personal responsibility. Look at the figures on the increase in drink driving and drug driving. I do not understand, in 2026, how any person can sit behind the wheel of a car, lorry or motorbike, having consumed excessive amounts of alcohol and drugs. I am not sure if the Deputy saw the RTÉ documentary two weeks ago, on which a very brave family bereaved as a result of a road traffic accident in County Waterford spoke. Their young son died in the accident. It was powerful and I commend the families on taking part. With that comes responsibility, and we will do what we can.
I take the Deputy's point on enforcement, and we must embrace modern technology too. Will we see an avalanche of complaints from certain people because we are using new technology? I do not know but I hope we will not.
I will work with the Deputy, and I thank her for raising this important matter. We both agree that there are families in mourning. They are front and centre in our minds.
Bus Services
90. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Transport the position regarding the bus stop enhancement programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15421/26]
The bus stop enhancement programme, which is led by the NTA, is a nationwide programme that invests in bus infrastructure. It commits about €500,000 per year, which is not enough. There are problems with delivery, it is all very cumbersome and it takes a lot of time. I will get into some of the details shortly. Will the Minister give us an update on the programme?
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist. Tá brón orm go raibh mé déanach. Shíl mé go raibh na ceisteanna ag tosnú ag 10.30 a.m.
I welcome the Deputy's question on the bus stop enhancement programme. It is a relatively new programme. Choosing sustainable transport is not just a matter of where a bus or rail line goes on a map; it is about creating an interconnected network. For that, people need places to stop, start and make a change in their transport journey that is safe, comfortable and accessible.
The NTA undertakes upgrades to bus stops and shelters across a number of schemes, including BusConnects, which is not included in the figures I will give the Deputy, Connecting Ireland, the active travel investment programme and, as the Deputy mentioned, the bus stop enhancement programme. That programme is a multi-annual initiative, which only commenced in 2024 and will run to 2029. Through the programme, funded by my Department, €500,000 is provided per local authority, not nationally, to enhance bus stop facilities at locations within the local authority administrative areas. Along with such funding, the NTA provides local authorities with bus shelters through its contractor, while also making the contractor available for the installation and subsequent maintenance of the bus shelters. Local authorities are required to undertake preparatory work ahead of the installation of shelters.
It is intended to streamline the delivery. As the numbers show, the programme is ramping up. It is important that, for the first time, local authorities, through the NTA, have identified all the existing stops. We ask the local authorities to submit their plans. This covers not just the bus stops or shelters, as the Deputy knows, but also hard-core surfaces or the extension of footpaths to make them safer.
The Deputy's question is valid. There is significant funding going into this programme and I want to see that ramped up. There is a very good pipeline. I will add more in my supplementary reply.
I thank the Minister for his reply and I accept what he said. However, it is important there is a stop in the first place, and stops must also be safe and accessible. An audit was prepared by many local authorities, including my own local authority, in 2024. The difficulty on the ground is that, two years on, the bus stops have not been delivered. An audit is prepared by the local authority, the stop is designed and approved by the municipal district, and the NTA is also involved. However, many of the bus stops have costs, whether it is €25,000 for a simple pole or, where there is more preparatory work involved, up to €75,000 when there is a shelter.
We have a problem in Ballybunion where there are no bus stops. In Lixnaw, there are none either. Tourists on the Dingle Way are looking for a bus stop and there are none. It all seems to be ad hoc and this is causing a lot of frustration. We have had an awful lot of wet winters in recent years, and that is going to continue. There are students going to college, people going to work and tourists who do not know where there is a bus stop and if it going to be safe. They need to have bus stops. There is huge frustration on the ground that there is no delivery. If it costs up to €75,000 when preparatory work is done, €500,000 is not really going to deliver a lot of bus stops.
It is €500,000 per local authority. I have projected and we reckon the drawdown next year will be about €15.5 million, because we can see the pipeline that is coming through.
In fairness, the Deputy has recognised this is a new programme. So far, under the bus stop enhancement programme, 100 bus stop locations and installations were done in 2025. There were ten new bus shelters, which is not a lot, throughout the State. There was an issue with the provider - I checked this out - because there is a new supplier of bus shelters. A significant number that have been ordered are in transit right now.
I do not want to talk only about the enhancement programme. In 2025, BusConnects Dublin had 750 new stops installed. Portlaoise town services had 73 stops. In the Deputy's area of Cork and Kerry, the Clonmel contract - separate from BusConnects Cork - had 192 stops.
Route 109 had 30 stops. Bus Éireann business-as-usual upgrades, which are to existing stops, numbered 343.
Is there something the Minister can do to speed up the process? For example, a section 38 planning notice has to be given. Can that be sped up in some way? We are playing catch-up because the infrastructure just is not there. It has not been provided for many years. What we need is a large amount of money to get these things over the line.
I understand the NTA criteria are based on the number of services that use the bus stop as opposed to the number of people who use it. For someone standing on the Tralee to Listowel Road or standing in the rain in Ballybunion, the delivery just is not there. For people standing in west Kerry, one of the wettest parts of the country, a structure has not been provided. There are poorly marked stops on some rural roads. While there are primary and secondary criteria and priority, it is the people who are standing at bus stops on their own, in the dark, in the winter and in the rain who are feeling it most.
The Deputy's question is valid and the points he made are valid. In fairness, he acknowledged that it is a new scheme. I have given the Deputy details of some of the works that are ongoing. Work on another scheme in Mullingar commenced this week. It will include a further 60 bus stops, the majority of which were completed in 2025, but the remainder will be done there now.
I agree with the Deputy's point with regard to the planning aspects, which can be cumbersome. I met the NTA about this yesterday in the Department. I am looking at how we can accelerate it. One of the issues has been the change in supplier. That has happened and a new supplier is in place for bus shelters. I was informed yesterday there are some 200 bus shelters have been produced and are on their way here. It is not an exact figure but they give the Deputy an indication. Those shelters will be installed and we will see a big ramping up. I am more than happy to look at the planning aspects of the issue. I have seen in my area of Fingal that it can be cumbersome.
To be fair to the NTA, this is the first time we have had a particular focus on this area. On working with the local authorities, the Deputy cited three specific areas in his county. It is up to the local authorities as well to make sure they continue to interact with the NTA to prioritise bus stops. We are working with the local authorities on this.
91. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to issues affecting commuters using the new F1 bus route in Dublin South-West; if it is acceptable in his view that workers using the bus to travel to Dublin city centre in the morning have had an additional 20 to 30 minutes added to their commute; the reason the peak-time, high-frequency timetable only applies to the northern part of the route; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16147/26]
Is the Minister aware of the issues affecting commuters using the new F1 bus route in Dublin South-West? Does he believe it is acceptable that workers who were using the bus to travel into the city centre every morning have had an additional 20 to 30 minutes added to their commute as a result of the changes to this bus route? What is the reason the peak-time, high-frequency timetable only applies to the northern part of the route? l ask the Minister to make a statement on the matter.
I assure Deputy Ahern that the Department of Transport, the NTA and the public transport operators are working very closely to ensure optimised deployment of resources across the network to best meet passenger demand and reduce their journey times, where possible.
The F1 route the Deputy refers to was introduced just last October. We have seen some issues with some routes, such as the Chapelizod route, and those issues need to be addressed. I would prefer if there were no issues at the start of the deployment of a route. That formed part of the BusConnects F-spine, which is the route the Deputy refers to. It operates every 15 minutes for most of the day between Tallaght and Ballymun, with additional peak-time journeys on the northern section to meet higher demand. That is the response I have. The reason is that there is a higher demand on that part of the route.
Together, routes F1 and F3 provide a combined high-frequency service of around five minutes between Kimmage and the city centre, before continuing towards Glasnevin and other northside locations. Beyond Kimmage, the routes diverge to maintain good bus network coverage across the surrounding areas south of Kimmage. To be fair to the Deputy, I acknowledge that the recent network changes have had varying impacts on journey times for passengers and customers. I have said this to the NTA directly. When rolling out phases of the BusConnects network the NTA has committed to monitoring those new services, identifying issues and implementing fixes when and if they are needed. While some increases in journey times are expected as part of the balancing involved and the redesign of the network, both my Department and the NTA acknowledge that certain journey times on this route should be improved. That is being monitored right now. The Deputy's input is valued in that because it is the lived experience of constituents in the Deputy's area who are using this route. That will feed in and it is being reviewed and monitored. The F-spine is a good thing. There is really good frequency there but we need to make sure the focus is on reliability.
I have been very straight about my support for the BusConnects projects and the objective of the programme, which is to improve bus journey times, frequency, punctuality and reliability. That is off the bat. It is great obviously. The routes had to change because they have barely changed in the entire history of the city. When implementing any change to routes there will always be issues like this. Unfortunately, commuters coming from Tallaght, Knocklyon and Firhouse have not seen an improvement. The 49 bus route was a little more direct but the new service is bringing them down roads that do not have dedicated bus lanes and are clogged with traffic in the morning. We have seen issues with routes in some other parts of the city. We advocate that an additional route be implemented or that the 49 service be implemented alongside the F1 route, even during peak hours. People in Dublin South-West have not benefited from the increased frequency that people in other areas have.
I do not disagree. The frequency is there and is improving but the Deputy is right that the journey times on some of the services are longer because the route is more interconnected to take in more people. Having said that, we are working with Dublin City Council and other stakeholders to deliver additional bus priority measures within the city. A lot of it as we get into the city. On 18 March, the Ministers of State, Deputies Buttimer and Canney, and I will meet stakeholders to discuss congestion and see if there are more immediate short-term measures we can take. Some of that will be bus priority measures and some of it will be bus gates and those types of measures.
In the medium term, passengers on the F1 route will also benefit from faster journey times due to the delivery of the planned core bus corridor between Kimmage and the city centre. That project received planning permission in May last year and it will be critical. We have started the first two quality bus corridors, namely, Liffey Valley to the city centre and Ballymun-Finglas to the city centre. Both of those contracts have been signed and the first one is under construction. That will be transformational. The quality bus corridor for the Deputy's constituents on the F1 route will make a big difference too. We are looking at interim measures.
That is exactly the point. It is about the interim measures. The roll-out of this programme is piecemeal, and I can understand why, but until we have all the infrastructure in place and all the routes perfectly link up, as per the overall plan, we are going to have issues like this. I ask again that the Minister talk to the NTA and suggest that it review this and maybe implement the 49 route again to run alongside the F1 route in the interim, while this is going on. We need measures like bus gates, priority traffic lights and all that kind of stuff. These are the technological measures we can take to give buses priority. In the meantime, however, an additional route to replicate the 49 route would be very helpful.
The route change has left parts of the community isolated, where once there was a service. Older people in particular are having to walk 15 or 20 minutes to get to a bus stop, where they used to have one pretty close to them. There have also been issues with the reliability of buses. Because this is a cross-town route, people are getting caught in traffic coming from the northside and going to the southside. Some constituents have had to pay nearly €200 in taxis because buses are not showing up and have become increasingly unreliable, which is another problem. I ask again that the Minister talk to the NTA about it.
We will. When questions like this are tabled and they fall within the remit of the NTA, I meet the NTA. It is useful that these matters are raised when we meet. To be fair, the F1, F2 and F3 routes were only rolled out in October last year. I appreciate people's patience with this. I am committed to looking at what interim measures we can take. The frequency on the F1 route is every 15 minutes at most times between Tallaght and Ballymun, and the F2 and F3 routes give a joint service around every five minutes. That is a big improvement. We always need to improve things and look at the experience on the ground.
What leads me to be confident about this is that people are responding. Last year, 363.5 million public transport passenger journeys were made, which was a record number. The Government will continue to invest in this area. We have to improve reliability and journey times, which will not be easy in all cases, particularly with regard to journey times in the city. I will have a meeting with stakeholders on 18 March, specifically looking at congestion within the city core and on the M50.
I have a meeting with stakeholders on 18 March, specifically looking at congestion within the city core and on the M50.
Electric Vehicles
92. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Transport the position regarding electric vehicles; the measures he is taking to make them more accessible to rural and lower income drivers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15422/26]
I want to ask the Minister about electric vehicles and the measures he is taking to make them more accessible for drivers in rural areas and those on lower incomes. Will he make a statement about it?
Research has shown that successful applications for grants are clustered in affluent urban areas in Dublin and in parts of Cork. We think this is inequitable and regressive and the Climate Change Advisory Council agrees with us. What efforts is the Minister making to extend the grants to families and workers who are not as affluent?
We are fully committed to supporting the transition to zero-emission vehicles. We regularly review the EV incentives and grants to ensure they are delivering value for money and supporting the delivery of the ambitious targets we set. Last year, the target was 195,000 EVs on our roads by the end of 2025. We actually exceeded that. The final figure was 212,500 EVs. The supports are certainly assisting.
Over €120 million has been allocated this year to support the continued transition to EVs, which includes grants for the EVs themselves and EV charging. The road tax for EVs is also lower. Changes have been made on the benefit-in-kind side as well to further incentivise EVs. The purchase costs of EVs have come down significantly in recent years.
Rural motorists are often in the most advantageous position to make the switch to an electric vehicle, due to the large number of dwellings in rural Ireland that are suitable for home EV charging, which we also support. Home charging means lower running costs and many EVs are now capable of doing over 400 km on a single charge, which will meet most people's daily driving needs.
Having an effective and reliable charging network is an essential part of enabling drivers to make the switch to EVs, which they are doing. The public charging network has grown in recent years, and the continued expansion and modernisation of the EV charging network will ensure drivers can use EVs with confidence. We published the national EV charging strategy. I got approval for that on Tuesday this week at Cabinet.
TII is leading on the delivery of that infrastructure along motorways and national primary and secondary routes. I have launched grant aid programmes for the delivery of significant high-powered charging infrastructure on these roads over the next year to provide all EV drivers with reliable access to charging points across the country.
The Minister said rural motorists are in a more advantageous position, but there are a couple of issues in relation to that. He also said that he exceeded his target, with the purchase of 212,000 EVs. However, he had moved the goalposts because a few years ago he said it was the ambition of the Government to have 845,000 EVs, and he reduced the target, so that is how he actually hit it. He said he is committed to having 30% of the private car fleet switch to battery by 2030, but that is hardly going to happen at this stage.
The Minister also mentioned the advantages for rural dwellers, but the stats do not match that. In 2024, registrations in rural Ireland collapsed. In Cavan, they were down by 48%, they were down 45% in Sligo and down in Leitrim by 44%. There is a problem with the lack of public chargers. The Minister mentioned it, but it is not actually the case. Ireland has 2,500 public chargers, whereas Denmark has 18,000 and that is a country that is smaller than ours. The Minister is not scaling up to deliver as many, so we are never going to incentivise and encourage more rural dwellers to use EVs with a charging system like that.
I am not 100% sure what figures Deputy Daly has there and I do not want to just dispute them for the sake of it. I can go back to 2024, but they are not the numbers I have. What is very interesting is that in the first month of this year we are looking at really significant increases in EV registration. If I take the Deputy's own county of Kerry, in January 2025, there were 86 EV registrations. In January of this year there were 142. That is a 65% increase. If I take Galway, in January 2025 there were 164 EV registrations. This January, there were 247, which is a 50% increase. The growth in EVs is based on actual registration of EVs, which is much more significant now in the regions and in rural areas than it is in cities. I will give the Deputy an example. In Dublin, there were 2,277 registrations in January 2025. This January, there were 2,720, which was a good increase, just short of 20%. In Kerry the increase was 65%, in Kildare the increase was 45%, in Kilkenny it was 80%, in Laois it was 60%, in Leitrim it was 70%, in Limerick it was 60% and it was 100% in Longford. I am just giving Deputy Daly the real figures.
The Minister is using an increase in the number, for example, in my own county off a low base. In 2021, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael announced a target, which has hardly been enhanced by the Healy-Rae support since the last election, of 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. That obviously has not happened. Even though some electric vehicles have come down in price, they are neither affordable nor accessible for many ordinary people, especially in rural areas where more electric vehicles would have a bigger impact on emissions because research has shown that if used in rural Ireland they would have a bigger climate impact because they remove 35% more emissions compared to their urban counterparts. Seven out of ten grants that are awarded are for cars costing €40,000 or more and one third are for cars costing over €55,000. That is not fair or equitable and it is concentrated in wealthier areas such as Dublin.
We want to make sure that the grants are deployed in an equitable manner, in particular for low and middle income families. I alluded to that at the committee yesterday. Deputy Daly will see where we have made changes on other SEAI grants, such as for home retrofit. My whole focus was on low and middle income families and to break the grants up. We keep these grants under review. They are a good incentive for people. The figures do not bear out what Deputy Daly is saying, notwithstanding the fact that we will always keep schemes under review to try to incentivise more people to use them. I could go through every county in Ireland. There are really significant increases in EV registrations from last January to this one. I am not going to bore him with the details, but I will supply him with them. Mayo is up by 67%. Monaghan is up by 65%. Roscommon is up by nearly 200%. I am not making it up.
That is because they dipped in the previous year.
This is 2025 to 2026. There are 212,500 EVs on our roads. It is going in the right direction, and the target was exceeded. As I said in the committee yesterday, I always keep these under review. We look at what we have done on the residential side. The impact that has had already is really good. We will keep this under review, but this is absolutely going in the right direction right now.
Road Safety
94. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Transport to consider extending the mandate for reflective road studs, commonly known as cat's eyes, to regional routes, particularly in rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15769/26]
We are all too aware of the terrible loss of life on our roads in recent weeks and years. Unfortunately, the number of road deaths continues to rise. This should concern us all. Most road traffic collisions in Ireland take place on unlit local and regional roads. At present, it is compulsory to install cat's eyes on national primary and secondary routes. However, this requirement does not extend to local and regional roads. Will the Minister consider extending the mandate to regional and local roads, especially in rural counties?
I thank Deputy Cooney for raising the matter with me this morning. It is a very important question. Like the Deputy, and Deputy Whitmore who asked a question earlier, we are very much concerned with the loss of life on our roads. Everything we do is about reducing fatalities and accidents on roads.
As the Deputy is aware, the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on these roads are funded from the councils' own resources and supplemented by State road grants. Of these grants, the vast majority are targeted at the maintenance and renewal of the network with approximately 10% of the remaining funding invested in new roads and bridges or for road realignments.
Each local authority is the roads authority within its own administrative area. The selection of roads for the installation of road studs or cat's eyes, as we know them, is a matter for the technical staff within the local authority. They will take road condition, road width, suitability for road studs or road hazard markers into account. The criteria for road studs or cat's eyes are contained in the traffic signs manual published by the Department of Transport two years ago.
Section 7.10.1 outlines how road studs should comply with European standards and should be of a type approved for use by the Department of Transport. Section 7.10.2 deals with urban speed limit zones, which are being reviewed. I agree with Deputy Cooney that for unlit roads cat's eyes and studs play a role. In my own area of Cork, I cannot understand why TII took away the overhead lights on the N40, making the road dark now. I agree with the Deputy that the more lighting we have, the better it is for motorists and road users. It is a question that we might need to reflect upon on further, in particular in rural areas as the Deputy mentioned. I thank him for raising the matter in particular on our narrow country roads. I will talk to him further on it.
I thank the Minister of State for the reply. Travelling on local roads throughout the country and in my county of Clare is challenging at the best of times. It becomes ever more difficult in the depths of winter. Many local and regional roads have inadequate markings where lane markings, arrows and stop lines are not clear. Most have no indications of the edge of the carriageways and very few are fitted with reflective road studs or cat's eyes. It is difficult to understand why proper markings and cat's eyes on regional roads and well-travelled local roads are treated as discretionary rather than compulsory. At a minimum, these safety measures should be mandatory in locations where visibility is poor, such as at bends, junctions and areas prone to fog in the interests of road safety. While policing plays an important role in reducing road fatalities, that is a separate issue. What we are discussing here is basic road safety infrastructure that should already be in place. I call on the Minister of State and the Department to provide the necessary funding to local authorities and to update the guidance on road maintenance so that these essential safety measures are implemented properly and consistently.
I again thank Deputy Cooney again for raising this very important matter. As he knows, last week the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, announced a road funding programme to the tune of €780 million for regional and local roads across the State. While there is no dedicated programme for local authorities regarding the use and implementation of road studs, each local authority has a discretionary grant in its annual allocation. The total for this year is €86.2 million. Councils have that discretionary spend which can be used in improvement and maintenance works. As Minister of State at the Department of Transport, I would encourage all local authorities to inspect their road studs on a regular basis to identify some of the issues the Deputy highlighted. He mentioned west Clare and Clare. There is deterioration and there are areas that need to be enhanced and improved. The local authority has a role in that. From a departmental point of view, we keep everything under review. Road safety and the enhancement of our roads are priorities for us. In the roads programme we have allocated resources in that area. I would be happy to talk to the Deputy further on that.
Seven in every ten fatal collisions take place on rural roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h or higher. These are the very roads I have highlighted here today. Half of all fatalities occur between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. when visibility is at its worst. I recognise that road maintenance is expensive but we have a responsibility as a country to do everything possible to reverse the rise in road deaths. Simple low-cost measures can make a real difference and the evidence is out there to be seen. I urge the Minister of State and his Department to upgrade the requirements and make road markings and cat's eyes compulsory on all regional roads and on busier local roads. These basic safety features should not be optional. They save lives and should be in place everywhere they are needed.
I concur with the overarching thrust of what Deputy Cooney said. Our current road safety strategy is very much about what he said - reducing speed and improving road conditions. I reiterate the point that local authorities have that discretionary spend and have the option to spend on what the Deputy has said. The points he makes about road studs and cat's eyes are very valid. Local authorities should utilise the carrying out of maintenance renewal works in terms of pavement improvement schemes and road studs where applicable as part of the roads programme. There is a fund available for them to use. It is built into their budget for roads. Senator Noel O'Donovan has proposed that we look at our verges and drains, and the Deputy has made the point here today. These are issues that we can look at and perhaps incorporate more into our road safety strategy. What he is talking about is low cost in the main and it makes sense. He is right that early in the morning and late at night the visibility is poor. It is something we need to look at and I would be happy to talk to him further about it.