Cynthia Ní Mhurchú MEP has this week engaged with the European Transport Safety Council (E.T.S.C.) to explore what strategies other EU Countries are employing to help reduce road deaths in their jurisdictions.
Ní Mhurchú said, as we enter into another bank holiday weekend which historically have seen road death spikes, Ireland is by no means the worst in the EU when it comes to road deaths however we are a long way behind Denmark, Norway and Sweden whose road deaths stand at 16-24 deaths per million people whereas Ireland remains stubbornly high at 32 deaths per million people.
“I welcome the recent initiative from the Road Safety Authority and their Interactive Collision Map but it will be critical that the Local Authorities are given the resources to make the changes in the local road network that the Interactive Collision Map will suggest to Council Engineers.”
“We must also listen to the advocacy groups who are working in the area of Road Safety. Particularly the excellent work that Sinéad O’ Sullivan is doing with StopRoadDeaths.ie. Sinead has publicly called this week for one body to be given responsibility for road death figures. Currently according to Ms O Sullivan there are 6 bodies with some responsibility but no group or individual with the budget and the absolute responsibility to reduce the number of road deaths”
The Ireland South MEP went on to say that the long-term downward trend of road deaths in Ireland has hit roadblocks. Following historically low figures, recent years have seen frustrating plateaus and occasional year-on-year spikes in fatalities.
For example the number of road deaths annually from 2022 to 2025 are very concerning.
| 2022 | 152 | Post-pandemic travel normalized, and numbers began to climb. |
| 2023 | 180 | A sharp, concerning jump that caused major national headlines. |
| 2024 | 171 | A slight decline (provisional RSA data), though still high compared to 2021. |
| 2025 | 185 | The highest figure of the decade (provisional RSA data), driven by spikes in motorcyclist and pedestrian deaths. |
As of late May 2026, there have been 66 road deaths in Ireland this year.
According to the latest figures from An Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority (RSA), this represents a continuing and worrying upward trend, marking five more deaths than were recorded during the exact same period last year.
According to the Carlow based MEP when you peel back through the statistics there are a number of Ireland specific factors that are contributing to our concerning road death numbers. Ireland has one of the most extensive and winding rural road networks in Europe compared to countries with massive motorway networks connecting dense hubs, a huge portion of Irish daily traffic relies on local and regional roads, where high hedges, tight bends, narrow roads and unpredictable weather increase risk.
The Ireland South MEP said in her research and work on Road Safety as part of her role on the European Parliament Transport Committee we have found that in the EU as a whole, car occupants make up about 44% of road deaths with pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists making up the rest however in Ireland, car occupants account for nearly 60% of road fatalities.
Also young drivers (aged 18 to 24) remain significantly overrepresented in Irish road fatal collision data compared to the wider EU average.
“What I want”, said Ní Mhurchú is for Ireland to properly address the Enforcement & Technology Gap in our fight to reduce road deaths.
“Other EU countries rely far more heavily on automated, non-discretionary enforcement than Ireland does, freeing up physical Policeunits and changing driver behaviour through the absolute certainty of getting caught.”
We need to greatly increase the Average Speed Cameras on our road network: Countries like Italy (the Tutor system), the UK, and the Netherlands use extensive networks of average speed cameras across entire motorway corridors and regional routes whereas Ireland relies overwhelmingly on static or mobile Garda speed vans.
“For example Finland has 1100 speed cameras and Sweden has 2500, in Ireland we have just 14 with a target to roll out another 20 per year!”
Ní Mhurchú stressed that we should properly explore the use of Camera Portals for Citizen Video, as Countries like the UK, allow road users to upload dashcam or cycling camera footage of dangerous driving, directly to a police portal (Operation Snap), which routinely leads to direct prosecutions. Ireland’s RSA has explored an online portal, but legal hurdles, data protection frameworks, and Garda operational systems mean a fully functioning citizen-led digital prosecution system is not yet active.
Ní Mhurchú added we should introduce Automated Mobile Phone & Seatbelt Cameras: The Netherlands and France deploy AI-assisted overhead cameras that automatically detect whether a driver is holding a mobile phone or failing to wear a seatbelt, generating automated fines. Ireland still relies almost entirely on physical Garda roadside stops to catch these specific offenses.
In relation to default 30 km/h Urban Zones Ní Mhurchú said that while some Irish local authorities have introduced 30 km/h zones in distinct neighbourhoods, countries like Spain implemented a blanket, nationwide 30 km/h default limit for all single-lane urban streets. The E.T.S.C. has heavily pushed Ireland to adopt 30 km/h as the legislative default for urban spaces rather than leaving it to fragmented local council bylaws.
Also Ireland’s network still has a massive volume of legacy mixed-usenational and regional routes where high-speed transit, local farm machinery, residential driveways, and pedestrians all share the exact same tarmac.
She called for Alcolocks for Repeat Drink Driving Offenders to be introduced in Ireland. Several EU nations, including France, Belgium, and Denmark, utilize mandatory Alcohol Interlock Systems (alcolocks) fitted to vehicles. These require the driver to blow into a breathalyser before the engine will ignite. They are frequently used as a mandatory rehabilitation condition for convicted drink-drivers to get their licenses back. Ireland does not currently have a statutory alcolock program for offenders.
She also suggested we should consider stricter nighttime curfews for Novice Drivers: Given that young driver fatalities are an area where Ireland struggles compared to the EU average, transport safety advocates point to models in other jurisdictions that place strict curfews on novice/learner drivers, for example, banning driving between midnight and 5:00 AM unless, commuting for work, a measure not currently utilized in the Irish system.
