Motorists caught speeding to face tougher penalties under new plans

Ottoline Spearman

Motorists could soon face tougher penalties for speeding, under new plans being prepared by Government.

Junior Transport Minister Seán Canney is proposing a graduated penalty points system, with points rising from three to as many as seven for excessive speeding.

This follows a sharp rise in road deaths, with 190 people killed last year - the highest figure in over a decade.

Writing in the Irish Independent, Mr Canney said that the next road traffic bill introduce graduated speeding penalties as well as camera-led enforcement of mobile phone and seatbelt offences.

He said that they are also working with the Law Reform Commission to consolidate road traffic law for the first time since 1961.

"It is our role as the Government and the organisations of the State to put in place protections and supports for safe behaviour," he said.

"Yet we need all road users, particularly drivers, to not engage in dangerous behaviours. We all need to be kind and patient with those we share the roads with, and to consider the potentially devastating consequences of our actions."

Mr Canney also said that the "stark increases" in deaths among pedestrians and older people is "particularly concerning".

"We tend to perceive younger people as at highest risk, but in 2025, about 50 per cent more people over 60 died on the roads than people under 30.

"Road safety concerns us all, and improving it must involve us all."

His column comes after a scathing article by former Minister for Transport Shane Ross in the Sunday Independent.

Criticising the Government's inaction on road safety, he writes: "While lunatics behind the wheel continue to create mayhem, ­­apathy trumps action among lawmakers."

"Public relations campaigns by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and empty appeals for careful driving from ministers should not persuade us that there is a sense of urgency in the Government. There isn’t."