Cutting road speed limits a 'disaster' say Laois councillors

Laois councillors have slammed the impending reduction in speed limits on Irish roads, beginning on Friday, February 7 with local roads down from 80km to 60km per hour.

"A disaster" and "shocked" were among the reactions, when the public representatives learned at the January meeting of Laois County Council that they had no say in the Government's decision to change the law.

They are concerned that the public will not know it is happening.

Director of Services Simon Walton said at the meeting that the council has the replacement 60km signs already up "at quite of a number of locations".

He said the Department of Transport will advertise the changes.

"The department says that in the lead-up there will be a national communication campaign to highlight the rural speed limit sign." 

He explained that councillors can change back speeds in bye-laws for a small number of Laois roads, but not all of them.

"I am just bringing it to your attention today. In my view it will be very limited changes, there are criteria set by the department that we have to comply with, such as the condition of the road," he said.

The speed reduction follows changes to the Road Traffic Act 2024 by Government. Next June, roads with 100km limit will drop to 80km, and town centres will drop from 50km to 30km per hour, with cuts to speeds at schools before the end of 2025.

The limit on the Rural Speed Limit sign (a white circle with three diagonal black lines) will drop to 60km/h as well. That sign on smaller roads tells drivers to use discretion and drive slower where necessary.

Cllr Paddy Bracken called it a "disaster" because people won't know there is a change.

"It's going to increase speeds. People will drive what way they want, there is nothing to indicate anything has changed. I think it's a bad move by the department," he said.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley was unhappy at not being informed in their Municipal District meetings.

"I am shocked it's going live. Local democratically elected councillors haven't had an opportunity to put their piece in. The least the department should have done was meet us," she said.

Only one councillor acknowledged that the change is to reduce road deaths.

"We want safety on our roads as a priority, but we are being asked to rubber stamp something we had no input into, no statistics, no technical advice. Can we later make bye-law changes to certain roads?" Cllr James Kelly said.

"There has to be a huge publicity job done by the department. Particularly for local roads," Cllr John Joe Fennelly said.

The Cathaoirleach Cllr Padraig Fleming does not see a need for the black and white sign at all.

"A simple 60 sign is the most easiest for everybody. I don't know why they don't go with that on all rural roads," he said.

Cllr Tommy Mulligan said that community groups have serious concerns about speeding on roads.

"Does a discretionary sign mean you can drive in excess? It's nearly a licence to drive as you wish," he said.

"It will cost huge money then you will be going back and changing the signs again, a complete waste of money," said Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald.

Cllr Paddy Buggy is flatly against the speed reduction. He asked if they had the power to change every limit back to 80km.

"I'm not in agreement. It's only a handful of people with bad manners causing accidents. Most people are never going to have an accident. Some roads are brutal, you wouldn't drive fast on them anyway. I see it as a revenue generating exercise.

"There won't be one life saved. This will mean if you're going at 63km someone in a van will photograph you and fine you. Someone in a tractor can do 60km now never mind a car," the recently co-opted councillor claimed.

The changes are part of a ten-year Road Safety Strategy plan to halve the number of road deaths and serious injuries on Irish roads. In 2024, 174 people died, 70% of them on roads with a speed limit of 80km or greater.