Press release
Minister McEntee announces €9 million in funding for up to 100 new speed cameras to enhance road safety
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Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, has today (Thursday) announced vital resources to enhance road safety with an allocation of €9 million in funding for up to 100 new speed cameras as part of Budget 2025.
Last year, Minister McEntee allocated a 20% increase in funding for GoSafe speed cameras, resulting in a total of 9,000 hours of speed monitoring per month across the country for the entirety of 2024.
This significant investment to support An Garda Síochána to roll out more speed cameras will provide for improved enforcement of traffic laws and help to reduce speeding, ultimately saving lives on our roads.
Speaking today, Minister McEntee said:
“We have all been shocked by the loss of life on our roads. The most important thing that we can all do is ensure that we practice good road safety and take personal responsibility in keeping others and ourselves safe on our roads.
”However, there are still too many people willing to drive without due care, be that by speeding, driving recklessly or driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
“Successful road safety strategies require stakeholders to consider a number of matters that together can save lives: technology, road design, driver behaviour and education, severity of penalties, speed limits, and of course, where all else fails, enforcement.
"We know speed is a significant contributor to road deaths and so it’s vital we leverage technology to make our roads safer for everyone. International experience shows speed cameras lead to drivers reducing speed.”
The location of the static speed safety cameras will be based on fatality and serious injury collision data, alongside speed data and feedback from stakeholders.
Minister McEntee added:
“An Garda Síochána has been investing heavily in roads policing activity and related technology; in recruiting additional Gardaí to roads policing; in assigning roads policing activity to every Garda member daily; in high visibility targeted operations, such as on bank holiday weekends; in automatic number plate recognition technology; and now with additional speed camera enforcement capabilities nationwide. This has resulted in an impressive improvement in road policing enforcement during the course of 2024.
“Every preventable road death is a tragedy, and together we need to continue to build on the good work already achieved by An Garda Síochána, as we collectively move toward the goal of reducing serious injuries and deaths on our roads.”
Notes to Editors
• A number of actions are being taken to improve road safety:
o Last year Minister McEntee allocated additional funding to increase camera deployments and monitoring hours
o 12 additional speed cameras by year end with a further commitment to have 100 more speed cameras in operation across 2025.
o 75 extra Gardaí to Roads Policing this year and a further 75 in 2025.
o 30 minutes of high visibility roads policing in each tour of duty by all uniformed Gardaí.
o In May, An Garda Síochána officially launched a system for identifying uninsured vehicles by scanning or entering the vehicle registration on the Garda Mobility Device, providing real time, up to date insurance information for every private vehicle in the country
o An unmarked lorry introduced by An Garda Síochána to assist with enforcement is already making detections.
• While the Department of Transport lead on road safety matters and legislation, it is the role of An Garda Síochána to monitor, detect and enforce Road Safety legislation. While An Garda Síochána has dedicated Roads Policing personnel, road traffic laws are also enforced as part of the day-to-day duties of uniformed Gardaí nationwide. This includes a programme of high-visibility road safety and enforcement operations carried out in partnership with other state agencies.
• Beyond the investment in these new safety cameras by An Garda Síochána during 2025, work on the development of a National Road Safety Camera Strategy, led by Transport Infrastructure Ireland and with the contribution of An Garda Síochána and other stakeholders, is ongoing. Its aim is to improve road safety by developing an organisational framework, strategy and roadmap for enhancing camera-based enforcement.