RSA rejects criticism from safety groups but admits non-compliance on roads 'off the scale'

The chairperson of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), Liz O’Donnell, has rejected criticism of the organisation by road safety advocacy groups, many of whom have recently expressed no confidence in the RSA saying it was no longer fit for purpose.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, O'Donnell admitted that, as the lead agency for road safety in Ireland, it was understandable that the RSA had been a target for criticism, but that road safety was an “all of government” issue.

O'Donnell also admitted that "for the last two years, since Covid, the level of non-compliance is just off the scale".

She said observational studies have shown high levels of non-compliance in terms of speeding, mobile phone use and drink driving. Since the start of the year, 61 people have died on Irish roads, a much higher rate than the 48 that died over the same period in 2023.

“We can only do so much. It's the Road Safety Authority who has been raising the issue since the direction of traffic has gone terribly wrong in terms of road deaths, so we're there." O'Donnell said.

"We're doing our best. I think they have a point when (critics) say not fit for purpose, our budget isn't fit for purpose. Certainly. And that's what we've been raising with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice and calling on them to actually put the resources into enforcement. Enforcement is the missing link.”

O'Donnell said people caught breaking the rules of the road should face more severe penalties, and also called for average speed cameras to be installed as quickly as possible. She also stressed that the RSA does not "have the resources to deliver all of the things that need to be done".

"We certainly don't have the resources to force the Garda Commissioner to actually apply more dedicated gardaí to road policing. That's only 635 people allocated to roads policing and that's only 4.5 percent of the total overall policing numbers.

“That's a huge deficit. It's the missing link. It's what we need to fix. Enforcement. Enforcement. Enforcement.”