The concerns of a road safety group founded by a Donegal woman has led Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to speak with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris about the need for greater enforcement of road safety legislation.
Mr Varadkar recently corresponded with the road safety group PARC (Promoting Awareness Responsibility and Care on our roads).
The Taoiseach told PARC that he is concerned that “we are now going backwards when it comes to road safety” and the issue required further focus and attention.
PARC was formed by Inishowen woman Susan Gray following the death of her husband Steve in 2004.
A hackney driver, Steve, 51, died when he was struck by a van after he left his seat to assist passengers getting out of his cab on a rural road in Inishowen following a night out.
The driver who struck him was an unaccompanied learner who was not tested for alcohol or drugs as there was no such requirement at the time, and who was later prosecuted and fined just €470 for failure to have an L plate and tax disc.
Susan set up PARC (Promoting Awareness, Responsibility and Care) in his memory and began campaigning for, among other things, mandatory alcohol testing of drivers involved in accidents, which ultimately became law in 2011.
The Taoiseach’s remarks come in the wake of several deaths on Irish roads in recent weeks.
He said the recent spike in road fatalities was “not a blip” and the matter needed to be addressed.
He said he would write to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and the junior minister responsible for road safety, Jack Chambers, to suggest that they convene a meeting of the ministerial committee on road safety.
He added that he may also chair the meeting.
Mr Varadkar said that he had spoken to the Garda Commissioner about the need for greater enforcement, adding that garda numbers today are higher than they were five years ago when there was more enforcement.
The road safety group PARC, which helps people affected by serious road traffic collisions, has said it is alarmed by the rise in road deaths this year.
It pointed out that at the end of August there had been 126 fatalities, an almost 30% increase on the same period last year.
PARC wrote to the Taoiseach calling for a series of actions to address the sharp rise in road fatalities.
They include greater enforcement, better roadside technology for gardaí, the sharing of driver information between state agencies, and with insurers, and stricter rules to ensure that learner drivers sit a driving test before they can obtain a further permit.
PARC says urgent action is needed by the government to reduce the heartbreaking trend of increased road fatalities.
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