Eliminating all road deaths by 2050 still achievable, says RSA

As of June 30, there were 600 individuals seriously injured in road incidents this year. File picture

Targets to eventually eliminate all road deaths by 2050 are still achievable despite an 'unprecedented' surge in road fatalities over the past five years, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has said.

Speaking at the Oireachtas committee on transport, acting chief executive Alison Coleman said 85 road deaths had been recorded as of June 30, eight more than the same period in 2025.

In 2021, the RSA announced a 10-year plan to halve the number of road deaths compared to the previous decade, targeting a reduction to 82 a year by 2031. 

Some 183 people died on Irish roads in 2025.

As of June 30, there were 600 individuals seriously injured in road incidents this year.

Questioning Ms Coleman at the committee, Fine Gael TD Emer Currie said Ms Coleman's confidence in hitting road safety targets "was not coming across".

“I’m not sure overall that the commitment is clear in the strategy that we require to deal with the crisis on our roads," she said.

Ms Currie suggested that the language used by Ms Coleman and the RSA is not taking full responsibility for road safety measures and instead shifting responsibility to other Government departments.

Despite the negative death trend, Ireland is ranked fourth lowest per capita in the EU for road deaths.

Ms Coleman disclosed a series of figures at the committee hearing:

• Almost half of all road deaths so far in 2026 involved vulnerable road users - 21 pedestrians, nine motorcyclists, seven cyclists and two e-scooter users;
• There were 10 deaths on 30km/hr roads or slower;
• Three-quarters of deaths were male;
• A third were 25 years of age or younger;
• Dublin, Donegal, Cork, and Louth have seen the highest number of fatalities;
• Four in 10 fatalities occurred on the weekend;
• Almost half of those fatalities took place between 8pm and 6am.

RSA director of research, standards and assurance, Michael Rowland, said that there was a 40% reduction in gardaí road policing and that support was required from the Department of Justice to boost those numbers.

Ms Coleman said that the RSA is working to ensure drivers are not abusing learner permits, intending to force 70,000 drivers with multiple learner permits to take a driving test before applying for another permit.

She said the RSA is planning on developing new TV advertisements and utilising media personalities to spread road safety awareness. 

As part of Budget 2025, the RSA ringfenced €18m for public interest activities.