Europe's seventh-highest road fatality rate in 2024 observed in Ireland, with a concerning increase noted
Ireland's progress in reducing road deaths has been slower than the EU average, according to Maria Meinero, a policy and data analyst with the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). In 2024, the country recorded 175 road deaths per million inhabitants, ranking seventh in Europe and falling short of the 50% reduction target by 2030.
This trend is a cause for concern, as the number of road deaths in Ireland has been on the rise since 2018. Figures show that road deaths increased from 134 in 2018 to 179 in 2023, and remained at 175 in 2024. Michael Rowland, director of research, standards, and assurance at the Road Safety Authority (RSA), emphasizes the need for greater progress in road safety in Ireland.
The rise in road deaths is attributed to persistent levels of dangerous behaviours on Irish roads, such as speeding, drunk driving, and mobile phone use. Dudley Curtis, communications manager at ETSC, believes that this trend can and must be reversed.
In response to this challenge, the Department of Transport in Ireland has published its second action plan for safer roads between 2025 and 2027. The plan proposes 12 primary transformative actions aimed at significantly improving road safety under the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030.
Key specific measures include continued investment in safe, sustainable transport, the rollout of safer default speed limits, improved data sharing among road safety stakeholders, camera-based enforcement and other technology advancements, and the development and delivery of an integrated road safety education programme. These measures are supported by a further 77 supplementary initiatives, all framed within the internationally recognized Safe System approach.
Priority areas in the action plan include improvements to sustainable transport infrastructure and interventions in high-risk areas. The plan also benefits from ongoing input by the Road User Safety Forum, established by the Department in 2024 to guide and monitor implementation.
Notably, the Road Safety Authority has identified a notable increase in young people's deaths on the roads; those aged 16 to 25 accounted for 27% of all road deaths in 2023 and 2024. The goal in Ireland is to have no more than 72 people dying on the roads by 2030 and no fatalities at all by 2050.
Dudley Curtis suggests that speed limits and alcohol interlocks for convicted drink drivers could reduce road deaths in Ireland, as they have in other European countries. The hope is that these measures, along with the comprehensive action plan, will help Ireland make significant strides in improving road safety and moving towards a vision of zero road fatalities.
[1] Department of Transport (2025). Second Action Plan for Safer Roads 2025-2027. Dublin: Department of Transport. [3] Road Safety Authority (2024). Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030. Dublin: Road Safety Authority.
- Ireland's progress in reducing road deaths, as outlined in the Road Safety Authority's 2021-2030 strategy, has been slower than the EU average, with 175 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2024.
- The increasing number of road deaths, which rose from 134 in 2018 to 179 in 2023 and remained at 175 in 2024, has sparked calls for greater progress in road safety.
- Concerned parties cite persistent levels of dangerous behaviors such as speeding, drunk driving, and mobile phone use as contributors to this trend, and propose solutions like stricter speed limits and alcohol interlocks for convicted drink drivers.
- The Department of Transport's second action plan for safer roads, spanning 2025-2027, proposes 12 primary transformative actions to improve road safety, including investment in sustainable transport, technology advancements, and a road safety education program.
- Notably, the plan focuses on reducing the number of young people killed on the roads, with a goal of no more than 72 road deaths among 16 to 25-year-olds by 2030 and zero fatalities by 2050.
- The comprehensive action plan, supported by 77 supplementary initiatives, is expected to help Ireland make significant strides in improving road safety and moving towards a vision of zero road fatalities, as demonstrated in other European countries. [1] [3]
