Leo Varadkar 'disturbed' by the recent increase in road deaths

The Taoiseach wants 'to make sure that everyone plays their part ensuring that people are safe on our roads'

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's comments comeas  there have been 167 deaths on Irish roads recorded this year.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he is “disturbed” by the recent increase in road deaths, as the Ministerial Road Safety Committee met on Thursday to discuss measures to save lives.

It comes as, so far this year, there have been 167 deaths on Irish roads recorded. This compares to 132 deaths by this time last year and 155 in total over 2022.

The latest fatality saw a man in his 60s die following a collision in Wexford on Thursday.

Speaking following the meeting, Mr Varadkar expressed his concern at the increase in road deaths, saying he wants “to make sure that everyone plays their part ensuring that people are safe on our roads”.

“We need to turn the tide on road safety. I know we can as we have done it before. The solution is to focus on evidence, on enforcement, and on education, and it’s also about engineering,” he said.

Mr Varadkar said that the Government would now begin work on consolidating all existing road traffic laws into a single piece of legislation, saying that this would “close off legislative loopholes” and the “all-too-common successful legal challenges” within the current laws.

The Taoiseach added that gardaí had briefed the committee on their plans for “stepped-up and targeted enforcement” in the months ahead, while the Road Safety Authority (RSA) spoke about education and awareness campaigns.

The committee, hosted by Mr Varadkar, is also attended by the Justice Minister Helen McEntee, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan, junior roads minister Jack Chambers as well as Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman and Sam Waide of the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

Susan Gray, of road safety campaign group PARC, also attended the meeting, with Mr Varadkar thanking her for making an “important presentation”.