Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 February 2019
511. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has investigated international best practice in terms of evaluating the relative safety merits of different bus models; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9022/19]
View answerDirective 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council established an approval system for vehicles within the EU. This system ensures that a vehicle must be manufactured in compliance with a wide range of safety standards before it can be placed on the market. This ‘type-approval’ system is periodically updated to account for improvements in safety standards and to allow advanced safety features to become mandatory requirements. Amendments to Directive 2007/46/EC are scrutinised, evaluated and voted upon by a number of different EU-level technical committees and working groups attended by representatives from the State.
The type-approval system is transposed into Irish law by SI No. 158 of 2009 – the European Communities (Road Vehicles: Type-Approval) Regulations 2009. These regulations have been amended several times to account for the continually improving safety standards that have become obligatory for vehicles in the European fleet.
