Insurance industry demands more investment in road safety

The Irish Insurance Federation has described the Government's road safety strategy as a failure and is demanding that more money be spent in order to address the problem.

The three-year strategy, which expires at the end of this year, aims to reduce the death toll on Ireland's roads to 300 per year.

However, almost 400 people lost their lives in road accidents last year.

The IIF says the high number of fatalities can be traced at least partly to a lack of investment in safety.

Spokesman Niall Doyle said an extra €37m-a-year would be available if the Government agreed to use the 2% stamp duty on motor insurance premiums to fund safety initiatives.