Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 October 2023
78. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Transport if the recently published public road speed limit review was peer reviewed as per international standards and recommendations (details supplied).; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44123/23]
View answer79. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Transport if, following the publication of the speed limit review, it is proposed to remove the statutory reserved function of local authority members to set speed limits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44124/23]
View answer90. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Transport to detail the engagement he has had with local authorities regarding their involvement with the announced plan to lower speed limits in regard to alteration or replacement of currently installed speed limit signs. [44209/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 78, 79 and 90 together.
The Speed Limit Review is a key deliverable in Phase 1 of the Government's Road Safety Strategy 2021 - 2030. This action is now complete and the Review, which was published in September, looked at Irish experience to date, best practice internationally and is underpinned by extensive transport modelling.
The review was undertaken by a group of experts comprising officials from my Department, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), An Garda Síochána, National Transport Authority, the Road Safety Authority and Local Authorities.
The aim of the review was to consider current policy priorities while continuing to address the fragmentation and inconsistency of speed limits on roads all over the country. Solutions recommended seek to address this while seeking to optimise the road network and increase road safety. Key proposals include:
• Default speed limit on national secondary roads to reduce from 100km/h to 80km/h,
• Default speed limit for the network of local and rural roads throughout the country to reduce from 80km/h to 60km/h,
• Default speed limit on urban roads, which include built-up areas as well as housing estates and town centres, to reduce to 30km/h
There are no proposed changes to the default speed limits on motorways, national primary roads or regional roads contained in the review. The framework allows for some appropriate, upward variations where a road is deemed to be safe and good quality on assessment by local authorities. Other recommendations include measures to strengthen support measures for local authority officials and elected members in exercising the reserved function to set speed limits.
The review is evidence-based and reflects best practice. In that regard, the modelling report was peer reviewed by Trinity College Dublin and the main report was peer reviewed by experts from Sweden.
