I call Deputy Bacik.

I want to raise the very serious issue of road safety with the Taoiseach. Ireland is now one of the few European countries where road deaths are increasing despite an official target to halve fatalities by 2030. Behind the figures of fatalities and injuries are lives lost, families devastated and communities traumatised. The Crowe report on roads policing was clear about the need for stronger enforcement but there has been a fall in the number of checkpoints and breath tests for motorists and there are nearly 400 fewer gardaí on our roads than there were in 2009.

The Government's road safety strategy is not being delivered. In addition, today we see a concerning report from thejournal.ie based on a study it has done, showing that almost half of all speeding prosecutions never reach conviction in the courts and showing some disturbing regional variations across different court districts.

How does the Taoiseach propose to address these issues and ensure that our roads are safer? In particular, how can we address enforcement and see an increase in the number of roads police?

First of all, I agree that every fatality on Irish roads is one too many. For well over a decade or two, we had seen dramatic reductions in road fatalities and injuries, but in the last number of years, post-Covid in particular, there has been an incremental increase with some moderation of that.

We have a clear road safety strategy. Progress has been made to deliver on phase 2 of the action plan for the period 2025 to 2027. There have been 12 primary transformative actions and 77 support actions.

Progress to date includes the following. The default speed limit was reduced from 80 km/h to 60 km/h on rural and local roads in February 2025. Local authorities are now working to lower speed limits, where appropriate, to 30 km/h in urban and built-up areas by March 2027. The first national safety camera strategy was published on 29 April. There is much more I do not have the time to go through here.