‘Absolutely outrageous’ speed limits reductions will cause more accidents – Burke

A MEMBER of Mayo County Council’s Roads SPC has said proposals to reduce speed limits on the country’s roads will cause more road accidents.

Under government proposals, default speed limits on all national secondary roads will be reduced from 100 km/h to 80 km/h while all local and rural roads will be reduced from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.

Fine Gael county councillor Cyril Burke has joined a growing cohort of Mayo county councillors who have slammed the proposals.

“We’re penalising a huge majority of people,” said Cllr Burke at a meeting of the council’s Roads SPC.

“You think of all the people who are going about their daily business; truck drivers, delivery people and the general public – penalising them over a small number of people who are causing these actions is absolutely outrageous.

“We put so much money into our road network now to improve it, and to think that we’re going to reduce the speed again that we’ll travel on the finest of roads. And it’ll cause more accidents,” he added.

Eleven people have died so far this year on Mayo’s roads – more than double the five people that died on the county’s roads in 2022.

Road fatalities have also risen nationally, with over 139 people dying on the roads as of October 6, compared to 113 fatalities in the same period in 2022.

Cllr John O’Malley (Independent) said the proposal to reduce speed limits came on foot of the government ‘panicking’ after two separate road tragedies in Tipperary which killed seven people.

“Jesus, 60 kilometres [per hour] you’re hardly moving. People would pass you on a bike,” remarked Cllr O’Malley, who said he was not opposed to reducing speed limits in certain areas.

Claremorris-based councillor Richard Finn (Independent) said the proposals were ‘a total sham’ and said he would rather walk than abide by reduced speed limits.

Paul Dolan, Mayo County Council’s Head of Roads, told the Roads SPC that the council’s own speed limit review would remain suspended until the government agreed on a framework for default speed limits.

Local authorities may increase the speed limit on certain roads provided certain safety criteria are met.

Reading aloud from a government press release, Mr Dolan said: “‘The framework allows for upwards variations where a road is deemed to be safe and good quality on assessment by local authorities.’ How we’re going to achieve that, I don’t know.”

Members of the SPC lamented that councillors were now unable to recommend the reduction of speed limits at dangerous locations such as schools.

Mayo County Council’s Director of Services for Roads, Tom Gilligan, said that Mayo was no different to any other county in suspending its own speed limit review.