Galway City Councillors hold off on Road Safety Authority no-confidence vote
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GALWAY City Council has rejected calls for a vote of no confidence in the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and instead agreed to support a re-evaluation of its role.
The issue was raised by Cllr Alan Curran (Soc Dem) at this month’s meeting of Galway City Council, where he expressed no confidence in the governing body and said the information it provides to primary school students is misguided.
Cllr Curran said the increase in road traffic fatalities and incidents last year represented a failure of national road safety leadership.
He called on the council to write to the Minister for Transport expressing no confidence in the RSA.
Labour Cllr Niall McNeilis opposed the motion, and said proposing no confidence in a state agency was “a big deal”.
He asked Cllr Curran to “take that part out” and added that the RSA was “doing the best that they can” to prevent road deaths.
Cllr Curran agreed with fellow members and was “happy to reword it” while Cllr Donal Lyons (Ind) said the Road Haulage Association had also “called into doubt the RSA”.
In correspondence to councillors last week, the RSA set out to clarify its role and provide an update on road safety in Ireland.
Chief Executive Sam Waide said the authority welcomed the opportunity to meet with Galway City Council to provide a more detailed overview of its work and strengthen collaboration.
Ireland’s progress, he said, was recognised internationally, with the European Transport Safety Council ranking the country sixth in the EU27 for road safety performance.
“We currently record 32 deaths per million population, a significant improvement on 41 deaths per million in 2014,” said Mr Waide.
“While this is encouraging, progress is not linear, and 2025 was a difficult year during which we saw an increase in road fatalities. Every death on our roads is one too many, and sustained effort is required from all stakeholders.
“All local authorities have critical responsibilities to deliver safe roads and roadsides in every community. Your role is therefore fundamental to supporting the delivery of Ireland’s Government Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030.”