Road Safety: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Martin Conway (IND), Administrative Panel

I thank colleagues and the Acting Chair for facilitating me. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He always speaks common sense, is most approachable and has a policy of getting things done, which is refreshing. As someone who does not drive, I can never work out why people who do are not more safety conscious. Driving is a privilege. It is not available to everyone and motorists need to bear that in mind because, in a split second, they might not be able to drive for the rest of their lives if they are not more careful.
There needs to be more synergy between TII and the councils, certainly regarding national secondary routes. A number of national secondary routes in Clare have had issues. What was done with the speed limits in Darragh was welcome.
I will briefly raise the issue of the car rental fleet. There is a European directive, and people renting cars have a responsibility for safety as well. However, there is a proposal, and a letter was sent in the dying days of the previous Government committing Ireland to the corporate green directive that is being brought before the Commission at the moment. That also includes rental fleets. As the Minister of State is aware, electric rental cars will not work in rural Ireland. We do not have the infrastructure. Even Dublin Airport does not have the infrastructure. I want Ireland to withdraw the commitment to participate in that because it does not make sense and it will essentially close down the car rental businesses at airports overnight. I come from County Clare and Shannon Airport is in my constituency, so I know the importance of car rental, particularly for areas that are not necessarily directly on the tourism wavelength and other areas where people need a car to commute.
The Minister of State might tell us where we are with withdrawing that letter.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30