The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has accused the government of a “damaging U-turn” after it abandoned plans for substantive reform of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), despite committing to the changes following a high-level report last year.
IRHA president Ger Hyland said the decision would result in more road deaths, prolong dysfunction in the driving test system and leave in place a publicly funded body that he said has been widely criticised as unfit for purpose.
Mr. Hyland said the reversal showed a government unwilling to confront rising road fatalities or deliver meaningful reform in the transport sector. He called on Minister Seán Canney to outline the cost of the Indecon Consultants report into the RSA that recommended that the organisation be dramatically reformed, a report that is now being ditched by Government.
The IRHA notes with alarm that road fatalities in Ireland are ever increasing and that independent reviews recommended structural reform of the RSA precisely because the current framework is failing the public and the transport sector.
The IRHA has been on record warning that delays and inefficiencies in driver training and testing, and broader RSA operations — including issues highlighted previously by haulage companies — impose real costs on businesses, drivers, and the performance of our rural economy.