LAST UPDATE | 18 Dec 2025

A JUNIOR GOVERNMENT minister has defended the decision not to disband the Road Safety Authority, after strong criticism from the opposition and road safety campaigners.

In an interview with The Journal yesterday, 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.

The move was met with strong criticism, with road safety groups arguing that the organisation is still not fit for purpose.

The decision by Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien and Canney was branded ‘farcical’ by the opposition and slammed by a senior government source as downgrading ambition on road safety.

Former junior minister James Lawless announced in 2024 that the organisation would be split into two, following an independent external review of the RSA. Asked today on RTÉ Morning Ireland whether he was saying that that decision was “wrong”, Seán Canney said:

“No, I’m not. And and I don’t want to get into an argument about that, but I would say that in my experience working in the private sector, sometimes it’s better to look what the problem is, rather than just doing something to change it.”

He said the decision to keep the organisation intact was based on “the evidence of what improvements have been made within the RSA in the last 12 months, and more improvements will be coming”.

And I met on a number of occasions with the chief executive and the new chair of the board to and I want them to bring forward to me in January what steps they will take to actually improve the service that they’re delivering.

Canney said it was better to work to fix the RSA, rather than split it.

“It’s better to solve the problems that are within the organisation than just be splitting it up,” he said.

Reacting to the decision a yesterday, 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. It was also criticised by opposition politicians.

With reporting from Jane Matthews