asked the Minister for the Environment if he will make a statement on the campaign, if any, that is being undertaken to promote road safety and, in particular, against drinking and driving; the moneys allocated for such campaigns for 1985, 1986 and 1987; the amount estimated for 1988; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Road Safety Promotion.
207.
The promotion of the public awareness aspects of road safety generally is the primary role of the National Road Safety Association, which operates under the aegis of my Department. On 28 August, 1987, I announced that the Association, the Fire Prevention Council and the Irish Water Safety Association would be merged into one safety body, with effect from 1 January 1988.
Since 1978, the NRSA has been particularly active in promoting public awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving, especially at the Christmas and New Year periods. During this summer, the Association also undertook a drink/driving campaign in conjunction with the Irish Insurance Federation. I am satisfied that these campaigns, combined with Garda enforcement of the drink/driving laws have had considerable success in reducing the number of drinkrelated road accidents and in bringing about a desirable change in social tolerance of the drinking/driver.
Detailed analysis of road accidents support this view. Between 1978 and 1986, road deaths generally declined by 39 per cent and injuries by 17 per cent. Of even greater significance, however, is the reduction that occurred between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., the hours which are most associated with drink related accidents. The number of fatal and injury accidents during these hours declined by 29 per cent overall and the proportion of all accidents occurring during the same hours fell from a third to a quarter.
Provisional figures of road deaths for the first eight months of 1987 show that the overall downward trend in road fatalities since 1978 has been reversed to some extent. The number of persons killed at 287 shows an increase over that for the same period in 1986. As far as drink/driving is concerned, a preliminary analysis of the figures indicates that the proportion of fatalities occurring between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. has remained close to the 1986 level.
The activities of the NRSA are funded principally from State grants. The amounts of such grants were £558,000, £594,000 and £613,000 for the years 1985, 1986 and 1987 respectively. The association's income is also supplemented by cash sponsorship or contributions from the private sector. These amounted to £31,000 in 1985 and £62,000 in 1986. The State grant provision for the new safety body for 1988 is £400,000.