'We have lost too many' - Speed limits in town centres may drop to 30km/h from next year

Town centres and built-up areas across Ireland may see speed limits drop to 30km/h in an attempt to increase road safety. 

The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD and Minister of State Jack Chambers TD yesterday (September 14) announced the publication of the Speed Limit Review's final report, which recommends significant changes to create consistent speed limits nationwide. 

It's hoped this will address an inconsistency in speed limits on Irish roads. 

Key recommendations in the report include setting the default speed limit on national secondary roads at 80km/h (down from 100km/h), and a 20km/h reduction in speed on local and rural roads throughout the country (from 80km/h to 60km/h). 

The changes come on the back of what has been described as "an alarming increase" in road fatalities. 

In the year to date, 130 people have died on Irish roads, marking an increase of 25 compared with the same time last year. 

Minister Ryan said the report is being published "at a critical time". 

He said, "...fatalities on Irish roads are increasing at an unacceptable rate and after a particularly painful period of time when we have lost too many young people and families who all set out on their journeys expecting to arrive safely.

"The devastation and loss is being felt right across the country and we have to take action to make our roads safer and more predictable for everyone who uses them."

According to the report, arterial roads and radial routes around urban settings should remain at 50km/h.

No proposed changes to the default speed limits on motorways, national primary roads or regional roads have been recommended. 

Minister Ryan continued: "We committed in the Programme for Government to review and, where appropriate, reduce speed limits to address road safety issues and ensure greater compliance. The implementation of the recommendations in this report will contribute to making Irish roads safer for all road users." 

Minister Chambers called this year's rise in road fatalities "a source of serious concern to all of us". 

He said, "There is no doubt that speeding is a significant contributing factor to many collisions. Implementing the recommendations from the Speed Limit Review will allow for a consistent approach to setting of speed limits across the country.

"The recommendations in this report will help us to achieve the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030 goal of halving fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 and advance towards Vision Zero. 

"These measures need to be part of a range of initiatives to drastically improve road safety. I have met with Justice Minister Helen McEntee to discuss enforcement action on our roads. We will be ending the anomaly in our penalty points system and we’re expanding the GoSafe contract. I am also working with the Road Safety Authority so we effectively target the right cohort with our communications campaigns." 

It is thought that primary legislation needed to change the default speed limits could be passed in the first quarter of 2024.