Independent TD for Cork South-West and Leader of the Independent Ireland Party Michael Collins has said that the Road Traffic Bill 2024 has some “decent” measures, but the overall strategy will “disimprove road safety” at “enormous cost”.
He said that the government has been “underfunding” west Cork and other areas by “tens of millions” when it comes to road improvement schemes.
“I simply cannot take any more lectures on roads from this government and its TD’s such as Christopher O’Sullivan when we literally have collapsed roads in Schull and a network of rural roads in west,” Deputy Collins said.
The bill is currently before the Dáil and includes changes for speed limits; penalty points; and drug testing.
Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Jack Chambers described the bill as an “urgent and essential” part of the government’s response to rising road fatalities and serious injuries.
Road traffic collision figures from the road safety authority (RSA) show that the number of road deaths in 2023 increased by 19%.
“There are countless rural roads around the country that have limits of 100 km/h or 80 km/h in locations where no one could safely travel at these speeds,” the minister said.
Road Traffic Bill 2024
The bill will amend the default speed limits from 50 km/h to 30 km/h for built-up areas.
National secondary roads will go from 100 km/h to 80 km/h. The speed limits on local rural roads will be reduced from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.
There are also proposed changes to the penalty point system.
At the moment, once a fully qualified driver reaches 12 points, he or she receives a driving disqualification. For novice drivers and learner permit holders, the threshold is seven penalty points.
When a person commits more than one penalty point offence on the same occasion, he or she will receive only one set of penalty points.
The new bill will mean drivers who are detected committing more than one offence at once will receive multiple penalty points.
It will also allow An Garda Síochána to test drivers for drugs at the scene of serious collisions where they are required to test for alcohol.
Reaction
Deputy Collins said that the government “sanctioned” analysis conducted by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), which found that these proposals if implemented would result in an additional 35 deaths every year.”
“Astonishingly however when government received this report it was treated like the outcome of the first Lisbon Treaty referendum whereby the TII was ordered to redo it to achieve an outcome more in keeping with what government wanted,” he said.
Independent Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said that the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eamon Ryan “hates building roads”.
“He is the only Minister for roads that does not like roads. He would rather have us walking along in the ditch rather than being out on a road,” Deputy Healy-Rae said.