348. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Transport the current status of the national urban speed limit review and implementation programme. [65702/26]

The Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021 to 2030 ‘Our Journey Towards Vision Zero’ includes the primary aim of reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads in half by 2030 and to achieve ‘Vision Zero’, zero deaths or serious injuries, by 2050. To help achieve this aim the Strategy included an action for a working group to be established to examine and review the framework for the setting of speed limits and to consider. Accordingly, this working group was established, and it comprised representatives from the County and City Management Association, the Road Safety Authority, An Garda Síochána, the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, and the Department of Transport. Their work led to the publication of the ‘Speed Limit Review’ in 2023, which set out three principal recommendations concerning speed limit reductions:

A reduction in the default speed limit on rural local roads from 80km/h to 60km/h.

The introduction of a 30km/h default speed limit in built-up and urban areas.

A reduction in the default speed limit on national secondary roads from 100km/h to 80km/h

These recommendations are being implemented by local authorities on a phased basis and with funding support from the Department of Transport. The first recommendation, ‘the reduction in the default speed limits on rural local roads from 80km/h to 60km/h’, was implemented on 7th February 2025, when the default speed limit on rural local roads decreased from 80km/h to 60km/h.

In October 2025, I issued a direction to local authorities to implement the second recommendation, i.e. the built-up and urban area speed limit changes, in accordance with the following timeline:

• to confirm to the Department of Transport the number of poles and signs they will need to implement these changes no later than 25th February 2026.

• to conclude the adoption of special speed limit bye-laws no later than 30th October 2026.

• to install all new poles and signs in advance of the new speed limits effective date, to ensure implementation of urban speed limit changes by 31st March 2027.

All local authorities confirmed the number of poles and signs that they will need to implement speed limit changes. Galway County Council is presently in the process of procuring these poles and signs on behalf of all local authorities, that will be implementing speed limit changes as part of this phase.

The introduction of a 30km/h default speed limit in built-up and urban areas, is presently being implemented by local authorities by way of ‘special speed limit bye-laws’. Local authorities are requested to complete the bye-law process for this phase by 30th October 2026 and implement all permanent speed limit changes by 31st March 2027 and this process is underway.

I have requested local authorities to implement these speed limit changes in accordance with provisions of the Road Traffic Act 2004, as amended, and with due regard to the procedures set out in the updated ‘Guidelines for Setting and Managing Speed Limits in Ireland’. It is important to note that this necessitates a period of statutory public consultation, and that the changing of these speed limits is a reserved function of the elected members.