Check against delivery

10 December 2014

Deputy Patrick O’Donovan

Opening Remarks by Minister of State Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald TD

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The Minister regrets that she is unable to be present as she is abroad on official business.

The Minister has asked that I emphasise that the initial decision to introduce outsourced safety cameras came after a number of years of detailed analysis and was identified as a key additional measure to reduce deaths and serious collisions on our roads. I need not remind the Deputy that the Road Safety Authority, An Garda Síochána, and many others working in the field of road safety continue to emphasise the role speeding plays in serious collisions. Excessive and inappropriate speed is the number one road safety concern. The advice to the Minister, in fact, is that in many instances, reducing speed by even a few kilometres per hour can make all the difference to the severity of a collision.

It was against this background that Go Safe was awarded the contract to provide outsourced safety cameras in November 2009, following a tender process. Operations commenced in November 2010 and were supported by advertising and an awareness raising campaign highlighting the life-saving objective of the cameras.

The Minister would like to clarify that Go Safe is paid based on the number of hours of surveys and monitoring. The number of detections has no bearing on the payments made. The service provided by Go Safe operates under the overall direction and oversight of An Garda Síochána, including with respect to scheduling of speed monitoring, training, and quality assurance.

Vans operate in defined ‘speed enforcement zones’ the location of which is in the public domain, including on the Garda website. These zones were identified following an objective and evidence based analysis of collision data and speed surveys.

Compliance has increased across the zones since the network was introduced. For example, between January 2011 & October 2013, compliance in 50km/h limit zones increased from 62% to 98%, while compliance in 80km/h zones increased to 96%. The Garda authorities are reviewing the location of the zones on a continuous basis to ensure the cameras are located where they can have the most impact on safety. All of the analysis carried out points to the conclusion that the safety cameras have saved lives, and therefore bring enormous human and economic benefits. Moreover, research carried out on behalf of the RSA earlier this year found that 81% of adults surveyed supported the use of safety cameras and 71% surveyed believe them to be effective in influencing motorists to drive more safely.

It is also important to bear in mind that the safety cameras free up Garda resources for other road safety enforcement, including more mobile operations, as well as carrying out alcohol checkpoints.

The Minister is of course aware of the recent court cases in which Go Safe speeding detections have been dismissed. The Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for the Minister to comment on the outcome of specific cases before the Courts. She has, however, discussed the matter with the Garda authorities and understands that they are carefully studying the recent rulings and taking legal advice, including with respect to the possibility of seeking clarification from the higher courts. This is being addressed by the Garda authorities as a matter of urgency and developments will be reported to the Minister.

Insofar as the question of reviewing the law is concerned, the legislation governing the operation by An Garda Síochána of speed detection cameras and the use of outsource safety cameras, is contained in section 81 of the Road Traffic Act 2010, which comes under the remit of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The advice from An Garda Síochána, however, is that the recent court cases do not identify issues which would warrant amendment of the legislation.

I would like to thank the Deputy again for raising this important issue and will certainly communicate the points he has made to the Minister.