I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 127 together.
The number of road deaths in 2000 was 415. This is a 12% decrease on the 1997 level of 472. In 2000, 1,640 people were seriously injured on our roads which represents a 24.8% reduction on 1997 levels. Provisional returns for this year show that 332 people have been killed on the roads in the ten months ended 31 October compared with 347 for the same period last year.
The Government is strongly pursuing the implementation of its strategy for road safety 1998-2002, the first ever national road safety strategy to be adopted by the Irish Government. The strategy has prioritised a systematic and co-ordinated set of measures for preventing and reducing road accidents. It establishes quantified targets for achieving its objectives, the principal of which is to reduce road deaths and serious injuries each by at least 20% by 2002 relative to 1997. Priority is accorded by the strategy to actions targeted at speeding, alcohol, seat belt wearing and vulnerable road users. A timetable for key actions in these and other areas is also set out.