When is this Government going to take road safety seriously?

In a week when we saw the Road Safety Authority, RSA, perform a U-turn on a shambolic plan to introduce breathalysers in pubs, we know that the start reality is that our roads have become a much more dangerous place to be. Statistics published today paint a harrowing picture. Today, there are hundreds of families grieving the tragic loss of a family member and communities grieving the loss of a friend and loved one yet, the number in the Garda traffic corps continues to decline. Simply put, the Government’s response and that of the RSA to road safety does not match the harsh and stark reality on the ground.

I have serious questions. Does the Government have any plans to reduce road deaths? Does it have confidence in the Road Safety Authority? Where will that €1.5 million that the Road Safety Authority was going to spend on breathalysers go?

The Government is committed to taking the steps that it can to increase road safety. The number of road deaths is not acceptable. We are going into a bank holiday weekend and darker weather. It is incumbent on everybody to make sure that they are slowing down and taking appropriate steps to maintain their own road safety and that of everybody around them. The Garda continues to enforce traffic laws and engage in breathalysing but it is important that every person in this House and everyone we know continue to take the steps we must take to make sure that we are not speeding or taking risky driving decisions, particularly in the wet weather to come this bank holiday weekend.