The chairperson of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), Liz O’Donnell, has rejected criticism of the Authority byroad safety advocacy groups, a number of whom last week expressed no confidence in the RSA saying it was no longer fit for purpose.
Ms O’Donnell told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that, as the lead agency, it was understandable that the RSA had been a target for criticism, but that road safety was an “all of government” issue.
“We can only do so much. It's the Road Safety Authority who has been raising the issue since the direction of traffic has gone terribly wrong in terms of road deaths. So we're there.
"We're doing our best. I think they have a point when they say not fit for purpose, our budget isn't fit for purpose. Certainly. And that's what we've been raising with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice and calling on them to actually put the resources into enforcement. Enforcement is the missing link.”
Road safety advocacy groups had said that the RSA was failing in its core mission given the increase in the number of road deaths to date this year.
“I don't accept that. We're pointing out where we need help. And it's an all of government strategy. It's not just one agency can deliver this. We don't have the resources to deliver all of the things that need to be done.
"We certainly don't have the resources to force the Garda Commissioner to actually apply more dedicated gardai to road policing. That's only 635 people allocated to roads policing and that's only 4.5 percent of the total overall policing numbers.
“That's a huge deficit. It's the missing link. It's what we need to fix. Enforcement. Enforcement. Enforcement.”
