Vol. 497 No. 5
240 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the action, if any, he has taken to bring to the attention of the motor industry and the Council of Ministers the need to adopt measures in motor vehicles which can help to reduce their speed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25347/98]
EU directives already require the mandatory fitting of speed limitation devices on coaches over ten tonnes in weight and on goods vehicles over 12 tonnes in weight.
The Commission's road safety programme, 1997-2000, provides that the impact of these directives will be evaluated and that research will also be undertaken into the use of such speed limiters in all vehicles. Ireland has indicated its support for the Commission's programme, and this will be facilitated by the recent completion of the Government strategy for road safety, 1998-2002. The strategy includes the Government's general commitment that Ireland will continue to support strongly the development and introduction of new vehicle safety measures at the earliest possible dates. It specifically states that we will press for the wider application of the requirement to fit speed limitation devices.
