Road safety

Liz O’Donnell, former deputy leader of the Progressive Democrats, has taken over from Gay Byrne as chairperson of the Road Safety Authority.

She will have her work cut out as she assumes the role at a time when there has been a rise in road deaths for the first time in almost a decade.

RSA statistics show that in 2013, Cork and Dublin had the poorest road safety record while Kerry, Donegal, and Monaghan had the highest fatality rate.