Holly Cairns
Question:275. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport the number of road deaths and accidents recorded in each of the years 2014 to 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26570/21]
View answerTuesday, 18 May 2021
Questions (275)
Written answers
The number of fatalities on our roads, together with the number of collisions resulting in fatalities, for the years mentioned, are as follows:
2014 - 192 (138 collisions)
2015 - 166 (159 collisions)
2016 - 186 (174 collisions)
2017 - 158 (143 collisions)
2018 - 151 (144 collisions)
2019 - 140 (127 collisions)
2020 - 149 (138 collisions)
Ireland has made great progress over the last 10 years, cutting road deaths by more than 30% since 2010, and moving from seventh to second place in the rankings of EU safest countries.
In 2019, Ireland was named the winner of that year’s prestigious European Transport Safety Council Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) award. The annual award is presented to a European country that has demonstrated continued progress on road safety combined with a strategic approach to tackling the problem across government.
Regrettably, despite massive decreases in traffic volumes in 2020, there was an increase in the number of fatalities. This serves as a reminder to us all that we must not relax our vigilance.
The Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, which is due to be approved by Government in the next few months, will be making a number of recommendations to reverse this trend and work towards the EU's Vision Zero target for 2050. The Strategy has been developed by the Department and the Road Safety Authority, in consultation with an Garda Siochana, the Department of Justice and Equality, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the local authorities and other stakeholders.