THERE HAS BEEN a huge backlash today against the government’s u-turn on disbanding the Road Safety Authority (RSA), with road safety groups arguing that the organisation is still not fit for purpose.

The decision by Minister for Transport Daragh O’Brien and junior roads minister Seán Canney has been branded ‘farcical’ by the opposition and slammed by a senior government source as downgrading ambition on road safety.

In an interview with The Journal earlier today, the junior minister with responsibility for roads, Seán Canney, revealed that the previous plan to split the RSA in two has been scrapped. 

He cited the cost of doing so as one of the reasons for the u-turn.

Reacting to the decision, a senior government source said Canney’s remarks about “shaping up” the RSA ignore the structural flaws identified by last year’s independent review, which recommended the split.

“Walking away from that ambition now risks leaving Ireland stuck with a system that isn’t fit for purpose while deaths keep rising,” the source fumed, adding that it should not be about cost.

The move was also condemned by a coalition of over 25 civil society organisations, including Irish Doctors for the Environment and the Dublin Commuter Coalition.

The coalition noted that they expressed no confidence in the RSA in April 2024 and subsequently welcomed the government’s plans to reform the body.

“All that has changed in the meantime is that more people have died, and more people have suffered life-changing, serious injuries,” the coalition said in a statement.

The coalition said it remains “firmly of the view that the Road Safety Authority as it is currently constituted is not fit for purpose and must be reformed”.

Other signatories to the coalition’s statement include Love 30, Cork, Dublin and Limerick Cycling Campaigns and Galway Commuter Coalition.

Government defends decision

The u-turn was defended by Taoiseach Micheál Martin this afternoon in the Dáil.

Raising the matter during Leaders Questions, Labour TD George Lawless asked the Taoiseach why the plan to reform the RSA has been abandoned at a time when road deaths in Ireland are increasing. 

As of today, 180 lives have been lost on Irish roads this year, up significantly from 164 lives lost in 2024.

The Taoiseach acknowledged that there has been a “serious increase” in road deaths and injuries, but said that he “favours the retention of the Road Safety Authority as the preminent authority to deal with road safety”.

Lawlor said overhauling the RSA was the government’s chance to “deliver an agency with the powers to actually make our roads safer”. 

Asked how the government will reduce road deaths, the Taoiseach said the gardaí will be “very active over Christmas” in particular and that, more generally, enforcement of road laws will be central to reducing deaths.

He also said the RSA will be given the resources to adequately deal with road safety.

In a statement this afternoon, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien confirmed the government’s decision not to proceed with the restructuring of the RSA into two new entities.

He said he and Canney were, however, “strongly of the view” that change is needed, adding that the RSA will be reformed within its current structure.

“The Department is now developing proposals in this regard and these will be brought forward early in the new year,” O’Brien said.

The announcement that the RSA would be disbanded was made last year by Canney’s predecessor as junior minister with responsibility for roads, James Lawless.

Lawless said at the time that the decision would be “binding” and “unlikely” to be reversed by a new government.

Lawless, who is now Minister for Higher Education, said today that he respects the decision taken by his Cabinet colleagues, Minister O’Brien and Canney.

“What matters most is that we all remain focused on reversing the worrying trend in road fatalities and achieving the long-term goal of Vision Zero,” he said in a statement.

Shock

Meanwhile, there was shock among opposition TDs and transport spokespeople at the decision.

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Sinn Féin transport spokesperson Pa Daly said the move “does not inspire confidence” and suggests the government is “unsure” about how to address the issues surrounding road safety and delays in services such as driving tests and NCTs. 

Similarly, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said the u-turn was “strange and unfortunate”, especially since the former minister for transport, James Lawless, had said the decision to disband the RSA was “binding”.

Tóibín said the RSA should be responsible for road safety alone and “nothing more” and that a separate organisation should be responsible for driving tests and administrative matters.

“We have an emergency unfolding in terms of road safety in this country, with a savage peak in the number of road fatalities this year. Many families are facing into Christmas dinner with a loved one missing from the table this year. It is heartbreaking,” Tóibín said.

The Meath West TD called for physical road improvements, traffic calming measures in every town in the country, and better road policing.

The Green Party’s transport spokesperson, Councillor Feljin Jose, said it is clear the RSA is “no longer fit for purpose” and that the decision to retain the RSA is being done against the recommendations of last year’s independent review and “without any justification or evidence”.

“This shows how deeply unserious this government is about road safety,” he said. 

Similarly, Labour Councillor and chair of the Cork City Transport Committee, Peter Horgan, said the decision by the Department of Transport is “farcical”.

He noted that no clear terms of the RSA’s remit have been provided, and no update given on whether there will be additional funding for the organisation.

“In Cork we have multiple crashes daily on the N40 that are paralysing the city, and yet we cannot depend on any body to compile the statistics for that. An Garda Síochána won’t release the locations of crashes, so the onus is on the RSA, which has not been at the races on this for the last year,” Horgan said.

He called on the Minister for Transport to provide a more detailed plan and terms of reference on the RSA’s remit now that it is being retained.