Road safety ahead of crime as top concern for Irish people

Road safety tops the list of concerns of people in a new survey, ahead of crime, anti-social behaviour, and litter.

The survey, conducted by the Research Centre for the Irish Business Against Litter group, also shows while many people believe the country is cleaner now than it was a decade ago, those in rural areas who are more positive about the upgrade in cleanliness.

Almost one third of the 347 people surveyed said road safety was their number one concern.

On the specific subject of litter, the vast majority of people said they believed a litter-free environment was important for the economic health of the country, and 61% said they felt the country has become cleaner, as opposed to 20% of respondents who said Ireland had got dirtier in the past decade.

The @UN Global Road Safety Week starts today!
Our 10 strategies to keep children safe on the road can #SaveKidsLives pic.twitter.com/UO1BUpUrqd

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 4, 2015

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Those living in rural areas are more positive about the change in litter levels than those living in cities, with 64% of respondents living outside Dublin said the situation had improved, compared to 55% in the capital.

Nine in 10 respondents said a litter-free environment was important in attracting tourists and shoppers into a town or city, while almost 80% said it was important in attracting investment into the country.

The annual IBAL Litter League survey last year found that 80% of the towns and cities scrutinised were deemed to be “clean to European norms”, compared with a comparative figure of 25% a decade ago.

This year, 40 towns and cities will be judged on their litter levels. IBAL spokesman Conor Horgan said: “As towns continue to improve, we are channeling greater attention towards cities, here progress has generally been slower, particularly mixed housing areas outside the immediate city centre, which tend to get ignored.”

This year Castlebar, Dungarvan, Garryowen, Midleton, Naas, and Wicklow town are in the litter league for the first time.

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