TII accused of refusing to attend council meetings over speed limit concerns 

50kph Urban speed limits, road safety, drivers, commuters, vulnerable road users, cyclists, pedestrians, councils, insurance, , injuries, speeding. Pic: Larry Cummins.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has been accused of refusing point blank to send its officials to local authority meetings to discuss speed limits it has imposed on the country’s main roads.

Cork county councillors claim they know more about road safety issues locally and have, in cases been backed by the gardaí, but still overruled by the roads authority. They say TII has, in some cases, upped speed limits in areas which local public representatives maintain will lead to serious accidents.

TII’s refusal to meet councillors from the Co Cork region has been described as “outrageous” and “showing a lack of respect” for local democracy.

At the request of Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus McGrath, the county council is to write to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and his department’s senior officials to say that TII’s stance is totally unacceptable.

The county council had written to the roads authority with concerns over a number of issues.

Speed limit issues

One focuses on the fact that TII wouldn’t reduce speed limits coming into the ‘highly dangerous’ Rafeen Cross, between Carrigaline and Ringaskiddy, where there have been numerous accidents, some of them serious.

There are also speed limit issues in Bantry, especially on the road to the west of the town between Ballylicky bridge and Eagle Point camping site.

Independent councillor Danny Collins said TII has decided part of that road should have its limit increased to 80km/hr, whereas the gardaí, locals, councillors and their officials maintained it should remain at 60km/hr.

“There are up to 1,000 people staying in the camping site at peak season. There’s also a hardware store, petrol station and shop across the way from it. People are walking across that road the whole time. It’s dangerous,” Mr Collins said.

Skibbereen-based Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Carroll also complained about calls for reduced speed limits in his region being ignored by TII.

He added that some years ago he was part of a delegation which went to visit TII (then the National Roads Authority) bosses in Dublin about similar issues.

Mr Carroll said the roads authority personnel seemed to listen intently and then “almost immediately forgot completely” about the issues raised as the councillors travelled back to Cork.

Several other councillors representing the North Cork region had expressed concerns about speed limit designations on the N72/N73, which connect Mallow with both Fermoy and Mitchelstown.

Mr McGrath said TII presented councillors with a ‘fait accompli’ programme for speed limit changes and refused to listen to their feedback.

Fine Gael councillor Kevin Murphy said TII is insisting on implementing any speed limit changes for a five-year period without any reviews being carried out in the interim. He said this should be reduced to two.

TII told the county council that "due to staffing constraints" it’s not possible for their representatives to attend individual council, municipal district, strategic policy committee or other local authority committee meetings, throughout the country. 

Correspondence from Andrew Moore, TII Senior Regulatory and Administration Executive, said the roads authority had made its decision on new speed limit regulations following a lengthy period of consultation with An Garda Síochána and the public.

He added that any issues relating to speed limits or road safety should, therefore, be directed in the first instance to the county council’s Roads & Transportation Department.