Road deaths increasing in Ireland despite EU-wide decline

Safety experts are concerned that 2014 recorded the worst annual reduction in EU-wide road deaths since 2001.

Ireland was one of 12 EU states in which road deaths rose last year compared to 2013. The others included the UK, Germany, and France.

Fatalities on Irish roads rose to 195 last year, compared to 188 in 2013 — an increase of 3.7%. Ireland had the ninth-lowest death rate from fatal road collisions in the EU in 2014, with 42 deaths per million inhabitants. The average is 51 deaths per million inhabitants.