I welcome the opportunity to address the House this afternoon to update it on road safety matters. I will be sharing my time with the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, will be delivering the closing statement. I would like to take the opportunity to offer my sincere condolences to the family of Grace Lynch. Neither the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, nor I can imagine the pain the family are going through and the sense of loss they are experiencing. To lose someone so obviously cherished by her family is a traumatic event. The direct reason for this debate on road safety matters is the tragic accident that happened to Grace Lynch. There will obviously be significant Government and enforcement responses to that. I also want to update Deputies about the unfolding accident on North Earl Street involving a bus and a pedestrian. I regret to say there has been a fatality and three others have been taken to hospital. Our thoughts are with the family of the person who has been fatally injured and the people who are in hospital. We wish them well. As a society, we find ourselves all too often expressing these condolences arising from serious road traffic accidents. Already in 2026, too many people have been lost on the roads in Ireland and we are just over one month into the new year. We need to grasp the simple reality in front of us. Reckless behaviour, selfish choices, excess speed, drink and drug driving, distracted driving and not wearing a seatbelt are all choices and behaviours on our roads that, as we know, lead inevitably to death, destruction and despair. For my part, I want to be clear that the Government is committed to reducing road deaths and creating safer roads for everyone in Ireland. However, this will not be possible without behavioural change. We have done it before, and we now need to do it again. In 1997, almost three decades ago, there were 472 fatalities on Irish roads. That was an extraordinarily number of lives lost and, thankfully, today we do not have such high figures. That year marked a turning point for road safety in Ireland. In 1998 implementation began on the first national road safety strategy. Over the course of that strategy and its successors, we witnessed a remarkable improvement in safety on our roads, as deaths began to fall. From 472 deaths in 1997, we reduced the figure to 162 by 2012, with a further reduction to 133 by 2021, which was the lowest level since records had begun in 1959. Road safety strategies and measures taken by successive Governments have played a very important role in reducing deaths on our roads. However, these improvements have also only been possible as a result of a great many of us changing and improving our behaviours on the road. Unfortunately, more recent trends are less positive and the gains we have made are beginning to slip. Last year saw an increase in road deaths, with 188 fatalities on our roads. That is a very significant number. That is 188 families and communities experiencing tragedy and loss and attending funerals of loved ones. Not only that, but for every fatality there are eight serious and possibly life-changing injuries. We obviously need to do better. For my part as Minister for justice, I am determined to see a return to the progress we have seen previously and know we can achieve. Enforcement is a key aspect of ensuring greater safety on our roads and the Garda continues to play a key role in prioritising road safety. This includes the implementation of 30 minutes of high-visibility road safety policing per garda shift. That was introduced in April 2024. In addition, since May 2024, the powers and provisions introduced by the Road Traffic Act 2024 mean that An Garda Síochána can now conduct mandatory drug testing at the scene of serious collisions. This is facilitated by the provision of tens of thousands of drug rapid testing kits by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety each year. I welcome the significant awareness campaign the Road Safety Authority ran last year highlighting these drug-driving enforcement powers and capabilities. Since November 2023, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland has been providing insurance details to An Garda Síochána. Details for 3 million vehicles and 5 million drivers are provided daily to identify vehicles being driven without insurance. The Garda continues to carry out enhanced road safety and traffic enforcement campaigns, with the latest over the recent St Brigid's bank holiday weekend. Over the weekend, An Garda Síochána and mobile and fixed GoSafe cameras detected nearly 3,500 motorists speeding. The highest volume of detections was on bank holiday Monday, with over 800 speeding detections. A total of 193 drivers were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Nearly 400 drivers were detected for driving while using a mobile phone. Over 660 vehicles were detained by members of An Garda Síochána, with 50% for no insurance. This serves to highlight that some people continue to behave badly on our roads and make poor choices, the consequence of which is endangerment of fellow road users and in particular vulnerable road users. Despite this concerted effort by the Garda, unfortunately, over the course of the weekend there were two fatalities and 14 serious injury incidents due to collisions. We must redouble our efforts on all fronts to further ensure road safety for all. We need to ensure that enforcement is effective, but it is also about behavioural change on the part of drivers on the roads. We need to slow down and be more careful.

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