Vol. 527 No. 3
271 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if the Garda Síochána has any input on the safety aspect of local authority roads; and the organisation which ultimately has statutory responsibility for road design safety. [28218/00]
Under section 13 of the Roads Act, 1993, road authorities are responsible for the maintenance and construction of public roads and may provide any amenity, structure or thing for the safety of road users. Under section 17 of the Roads Act, 1993, the National Roads Authority has a duty to secure the provision of a safe and efficient network of national roads and, for that purpose, it has overall responsibility for the planning and supervision of works for the construction and maintenance of national roads.
An Garda Síochána is primarily responsible for the enforcement of road safety legislation and regulations. However, it maintains liaison with local road authorities and the NRA in relation to the condition and signage of public roads. The Garda and other road safety agencies also participate in the high level group on road safety which has a co-ordinating role in relation to road safety policies.
Local road authorities and the NRA operate with the assistance of A Guide to Road Safety Engineering in Ireland, published by my Department in 1996. This work has been partly updated by specifications for road works published recently by the NRA and a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library. The NRA will also, in the coming months, publish a design manual for roads and bridges which will provide updated guidance on certain aspects of road safety engineering for the benefit of both national and non-national roads.
Since 1994, the NRA has operated a programme whereby deficiencies at accident locations can be identified and remedied. Road authority proposals in this regard which are approved by the NRA are financed by grants paid by the authority from its road safety measures programme. Under the Government's road safety strategy the NRA is continuing to expand activity in this area with a view to treating a minimum of 400 additional high risk accident locations on national roads in the period 1998 to 2002. A similar programme has this year been extended to the non-national road network and the NRA is assisting road authorities in the identification of priority black-spots.
The NRA also conducts road safety audits and checks, in conjunction with road authorities. In addition, it operates a programme of traffic calming improvements on the national road network and has published guidelines in relation to the application of such measures.
