Pringle: Ensuring safety of road users must be a Government priority
- Updated: 15th May 2024
Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, said Government is not doing enough to ensure the safety of road users, saying roads funding must be increased.
He also credited TY students at St Catherine’s Vocational School, Killybegs, for producing a powerful video aimed at tackling dangerous behaviour on the road, saying that young people should be included in the design of road safety ads and campaigns.
Addressing the Dáil today, Deputy Pringle said: “2024 has been a devastating year for road fatalities and my heart goes out to all the families and loved ones affected by road deaths and road accidents. There have been 67 collisions and 72 people killed on Irish roads so far this year. This is the highest we have seen in a number of years, and it is very worrying.
“The European Commission’s country-by-country analysis comparing road deaths showed that Ireland had, by far, the worst percentage increase of any country. A shocking 29% increase. Only Ireland and Norway, who saw a 14% increase, saw double-figure percentage increases.”
He said: “It is clear that Ireland is not doing enough when it comes to ensuring the safety of our road users. This needs to be a priority for the government going forward.”
The deputy was speaking in support of the Labour Motion re Road Safety and Maintenance.
Deputy Pringle said: “I know the Road Safety Authority has been running very effective campaigns, many including young people. This is extremely important given that since 2019, people aged between 16 and 25 represent about 20% of all road deaths, despite making up just 12% of the population.” He said programmes such as “Your Road to Safety”, aimed at transition-year students to help them become safe road users, are vital in ensuring safer roads.
Deputy Pringle said: “I saw a very powerful video made by the TY students of St Catherine’s Vocational School, Killybegs, as part of this programme. The video was designed as a TV ad aimed at tackling dangerous behaviour behind the wheel and addressed risky choices that many young people make.”
“The video showed great initiative by the students and shows just how effective programmes like this can be when we involve young people and give them the opportunity to address the issues that impact them directly. Young people are more likely to engage in videos made by their peers than ads they see on TV or online. I believe we should be actively including young people in the design of road safety ads and campaigns, and videos such as the one made by the Killybegs students prove that young people are willing and very capable,” he said.
Deputy Pringle said: “The RSA should also be working closely with city and county councils, and I don’t think we can properly tackle this issue until this is the case. The fact that the RSA doesn’t share data on road traffic collisions with local authorities due to GDPR concerns is absolutely ridiculous.”
He said: “The government also needs to ensure sufficient funding to local authorities. It is very disappointing that there was a 3% cut in regional and local roads investment, while overall funding for road networks and road safety was down 11%.” This hits rural communities the hardest, he said.
The deputy said: “Donegal roads have required significant investment for a long time now and given that we have no rail network and rely solely on our roads, Donegal, I believe, should be prioritised in future funding.
“I am urging the government to ensure that our roads are safe by providing sufficient, ringfenced funding to local authorities for road repairs, cycle lanes and footpaths and to treat the increase in road deaths as a matter of urgency and priority,” he said.
