2026-02-26

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.