Absence of policing fuelling road deaths
THE steady reduction of gardaí policing our roads has played ‘a key role in our road deaths spiral,’ an opposition leader has claimed.
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín spoke out as road fatalities continue to climb and as the families of three young people killed in a horror crash in Co. Carlow prepare for their funerals.
Figures provided to Deputy Tóibín by the Department of Justice reveal the number of gardaí policing the country’s roads dropped from 1,046 in 2009 to 659 by last August.
The Meath West TD told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘There is a direct relationship between the shocking increase in the number of deaths and the collapse in the number of gardaí policing our roads.
‘Enforcement is not happening. Drivers know this, and some aren’t adhering to safety laws as a result. The Government and Minister for Justice need to get real and put their resources where their mouth is.’
A report this week revealed a €6m funding request from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to hire more staff, as part of an expansion of its road safety media campaigns, was rejected by the Department of Transport.
Last year, 184 people died on Irish roads, almost a 20% increase on 2022.
Labour Transport spokesperson Duncan Smith said the RSA needs ‘a transfusion of new energy and ideas’.
He told the MoS: ‘Twenty years ago, the RSA set new standards in road safety. It had Gay Byrne, the most famous broadcaster in the State as its public face, and we had serious sustained enforcement.
‘By contrast, today’s Vision Zero strategy appears to lack energy and focus. Enforcement has fallen through the floor. We have faster cars and fewer gardaí.’
Meanwhile, the three young people killed in a tragic collision while ‘out for a spin’ will be buried tomorrow and Tuesday following funeral services in their home towns.
Michael Kelly, 25, from Nurney, Co. Carlow and Katie Graham, 19, from Arles, Co. Laois, were travelling in a red Lexus – recently bought by their pal Daryl Culbert, 21, from Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow – when it went out of control on a dangerous stretch of road on the outskirts of Carlow town.