Council to place renewed focus on road safety measures

Monaghan County Council is to place a renewed focus on road safety measures in 2026.

Chief Executive Robert Burns told the January meeting of the local authority that redoubling the council’s road safety efforts had been on his mind entering the New Year. He had met with the Director of Services for Transport, Nial O’Connor, and Road Safety Officer, Adrian O’Sullivan, to examine how they could work with An Garda Siochána and emergency services on new initiatives.

South Monaghan councillor Noel Keelan raised the issue in light of the 190 deaths recorded on Irish roads in 2025, the highest number of fatalities in 12 years. Noting that many of the victims had been pedestrians and cyclists, he asked the council executive to intensify its road safety focus in the year ahead.

“We can do some things with signs and lines and sometimes the simple things are the most effective,” the Sinn Féin representative stated.

Role to Play

Expressing concern about what appeared to be a rising number of fatalities involving HGVs, Cllr Keelan acknowledged that alleviating human error and improving driver behaviour had big roles to play, but said that Monaghan County Council had an important role too.

The Chief Executive said almost all the people who died on roads died at the hands of people driving vehicles and he thought that this was where the council’s focus needs to be. He said that conditions on the main N2 route through Monaghan would get better over the next five to six years as major improvement projects, currently in train, are advanced. But activity on the county’s roads would also increase – motor vehicles were becoming bigger, faster and heavier- and they needed to take account of this also.

“The reasons for fatalities and serious injuries on our roads are multifaceted,” Mr Burns remarked. “There is an understandable focus on fatalities, but we should also remember that last year 1,600 people had their lives profoundly impacted by serious injury on the roads.”

Transport Services Director, Mr O’Connor, said the council’s roads team would focus very much on safety in 2026. A number of Active Travel projects with a road safety emphasis would be progressed and there would be a speed limit review in urban areas of the county.

Mr O’Connor added that a new road safety awareness programme would also be brought before elected members in the coming months.

Sinéad Flynn (SF), who chairs the Ballybay-Clones Municipal District, said it was extremely important the local authority continues its road safety campaigns in the year ahead.

Raymond Aughey (FF) asked that the council conduct a social media campaign on the dangers of mobile phone distraction while driving.

He also proposed that the local authority write to Gardaí asking that extra patrols be deployed on the N2 from Emyvale to Aclint Bridge. In his opinion reckless driving had gone to “another level” in recent times.

The proposal was seconded by Peter Conlon (FG) and unanimously agreed.

The Cathaoirleach, P.J. O’Hanlon, said this issue should also be raised at the next meeting of the Co Monaghan Community Safety Partnership.

Gift of a Lift

The meeting also received a briefing on the Gift of a Lift Christmas road safety campaign conducted by the Co Council with the support of the Gardaí, the National Ambulance Service and Monaghan Fire and Civil Protection.

The initiative was designed to encourage family members to offer a lift to a loved one over the festive period, to ensure they got home safely from a night out.