Donegal County Council has been hailed for its spending and time on promoting the message of road safety.
Figures just released have revealed the spent €521,648 from 2014 until 2018 on road safety and anti-drink-drive artwork, marketing and training.
In some cases, Donegal’s spending on road safety has been almost 27 times more than similar counties.
Donegal had 10 deaths on its roads last year, spending 27 times Tipperary’s €18,919.89, which had 11 fatalities on its roads in the same time period.
Both counties have a similar population of around 159,000 people.
When presented with the figures, the Irish Road Victims Association said it “welcomes Donegal’s efforts and financial investment in trying to prevent death and injury in the county, which has suffered greatly”.
Cork County Council spent €73,181, seven times less than that of Donegal, and the county had 16 road deaths in 2018.
Donegal spends as much as Clare (€60,249), Tipperary (€18,919.89), Monaghan (€9,459.76) and Cork (€73,181) put together in the years 2014-2018.
Larger county councils such as Dublin and Galway spent €3,397,651 and €2,806,356.79 respectively.
Donegal’s battle with road safety has been well-highlighted in recent years following multiple accidents in recent including the Buncrana road tragedy in which eight people died and this year’s tragedy in Gortahork in which four young men lost their lives.
Spearheaded by Donegal’s road safety officer, Brian O’Donnell, Donegal County Council has been proactive in their approach to road safety.
These measures include continuous safety campaigns, road safety roadshows as well as the setting up of the Donegal Road Safety Working Group.
“Reducing the number of deaths and injuries on Donegal’s roads is a responsibility we all share and Donegal County Council through the Donegal Road Safety Working Group (DRSWG) is committed to continuing to work with all our partners to achieve this aim,” a spokesman said.
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