Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the fact there have been more road deaths so far in 2023 than all of 2022 is a “matter of enormous concern”.
As of Monday morning, there had been 163 road fatalities in Ireland so far in 2023 – an increase of 37 on the same period in 2022.
The figure for 2023 already surpasses the total number of deaths (155) for the whole of last year.
Speaking to reporters at the opening of the N22 Baile Bhuirne-Macroom bypass in Co Cork, Mr Varadkar said: “I’m aware that we’ve lost some lives only in the last 24 hours in Donegal, so I think that’s very much on everyone’s minds.”
Asked if there was a need for more investment in roads policing, he said: “There’s no one thing that makes our roads safer. You have to do lots of different things.
“So, increasing enforcement is part of that, that is about additional gardai, it is also about more GoSafe vans and they’ve been approved.
“It is also about improving our roads and making sure they’re well maintained – and also about education.
“We’ll be running some campaigns reminding people of the kinds of behaviours that save lives on our roads.
“We made so much progress in the last couple of decades. There was a time when 600, 700 people were dying on our roads and it is really disturbing to see that number that had come down go back up again – and something I’ll be taking a personal interest in as Taoiseach.”
Mr Varadkar said the possibility of more funding for the roads budget would be re-examined under a review of the National Development Plan.
However, he said there was a Government commitment that public transport would be favoured in a 2:1 ratio over roads when it comes to funding for new transport projects.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the upward trend was “hugely upsetting”.
She said the priority for the rest of the year was to ensure there was continuous visibility of gardaí on the roads.
Asked if gardaí would be ramping up patrols for the Christmas period, Ms McEntee said it was important to have a visible presence on the roads regardless of the time of year.
“What’s important here is that there is continuous visibility and Garda presence on the ground,” she said.
“We do have campaigns that are much more visible I suppose at weekends and holidays, and periods of time when we know that there are particular challenges on our roads.
“But the focus between now and the end of the year is to make sure that presence and that visibility is continuous, irrespective of whether it’s a Monday or Sunday or a Saturday night. And that will be the priority and is the priority for the Garda commissioner (Drew Harris) and those who are responsible for our roads traffic units.
“It’s also important to acknowledge that not all of the policing takes place through the roads traffic units, that our frontline gardai, members who are out on the beat, that they respond to many incidents and that they form part of the overall traffic response.”
Commenting on the overall figures, not any particular road traffic incident this year, Ms McEntee added: “It’s been a really worrying time.
“It’s been hugely upsetting to see the trend move in the direction that it has, every effort has to be made to try and reverse that trend.
“So it’s the gardaí and the work that they do.
“But it’s also making sure that we have the chosen technology, that we look at new equipment, whether it’s average speed cameras, whether it’s ways in which local authorities can play a role around minor offences on our roads, but also looking at education and how we can communicate with people to change behaviours, because that is the one way in which we can actually stop these road deaths from happening, it’s by changing people’s behaviours, getting people to slow down, not get into the car when they have drink or drugs taken, to wear their seatbelts, all of the basics that will play and have a huge role to play in reducing the deaths.”
Ms McEntee said there was a need to do more collectively across government and other relevant agencies.
“I’m absolutely committed to doing more to making sure that the gardai have the resources that they need,” she said.
“And that’s not just more members, but it’s also making sure they have the technology and the equipment that they need.”
The minister said there was also a need to adapt how road safety messages are delivered.
“I know there are new education campaigns, because we have to look at the fact that people’s response to certain types of campaigns, they change over time. How can we change people’s behaviour, what worked 10 years ago on our TV screens mightn’t work now,” she said.
“So that’s a continuous effort. More needs to be done. We absolutely accept that. But I’m absolutely committed to it, as I know my colleagues are.”
