With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 21 and 22 together.
Provisional figures of the number of deaths and injuries resulting from road accidents are compiled by the Garda Síochána on a monthly basis in the first instance. Information is accordingly not available in the form requested by the Deputy. The latest available figures, however, indicate that during December 1980, 53 persons were killed and a further 758 were injured. The corresponding figures for December 1979 were 66 and 756 respectively. The number of road fatalities recorded in December 1980 is the lowest since 1970. The number of persons injured was about 6 per cent less than the average for December.
Details of the number of deaths and injuries resulting from road accidents together with analyses of the contributory factors involved are published on an annual basis by An Foras Forbartha in their Report Road Accident Facts. Information regarding road accidents in 1980 will be published by An Foras in due course.
I do not consider in the circumstances that the holding of an inquiry on the lines indicated by the Deputy would be necessary or appropriate. The incidence of road accidents and the causative factors involved are continuously monitored and reviewed by the Garda, who investigate accidents on the spot, by the road authorities, who are concerned with road conditions, through the specific research activities of An Foras Forbartha and the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, and overall by my Department. These activities provide a base for the formulation and implementation of traffic accident counter measures in respect of such matters as road planning and construction, the management of traffic, other administrative measures, legislation and regulations and the promotion of road safety generally.