Speed Limits Review

For example, TII’s appraisal methodology uses historical information to derive expected numbers of collisions per million vehicle kilometres (PEPAG-02030-01 (tiipublications.ie), p. 15). This depends on the type of road (with/without central divider) and the speed limit (above/below 60km/hr). All else being equal, a reduction in vehicle kilometres travelled is shown to lead to a modelled decrease in collisions. The scale of benefit would also vary considerably based on the scheme. While cyclist fatalities increased in 2025, they remain close to historical low levels. It is likely that increased investment in road space reallocation and segregation of vulnerable road users has played an important role in these outcomes.

appropriate for ensuring the safety of all road users in any given urban area, including limits of 30kmph.

Speed limits are an important tool in managing traffic, and in efforts to rebalance space in favour of more vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, and cyclists. The speed of vehicles also has an impact on emissions, and this was considered as part of the Review. For example, emission rates are highest at lower speeds for fossil fuel vehicles. However, emissions reduce as speed increases to between 60 km/h and 80 km/h. Beyond 80km/h, emissions begin to increase slowly again. Frequent acceleration and deceleration (e.g., in congested traffic) also increases emissions. An efficient, and free-moving transport system that complies with safe speeds can also have an optimum effect on emissions arising from fossil fuelled Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs).

Over half of all 2025 fatalities occurred on high speed roads, outside of urban areas - roads with a speed limit equal to or greater than 80km/h. If public transport uptake is further increased in rural areas in particular, this should help to reduce the high share of fatalities on these non-urban roads.

Finally, the Review also pointed to the wide ranging and adverse health, social and economic effects of noise pollution and the role that appropriate speed management can have in reducing excessive traffic noise, with international efforts to achieve noise abatement measures in urban areas increasingly focusing on the implementation of 30km/h speed limits.

Speed Limits Review

The current approach to speed limits in Ireland is guided by several key policy areas e.g., road safety, climate, and the environment, and is reflected in specific plans such as the Government’s Road Safety Strategy and associated action plans, the Climate Action Plan and the Sustainable Mobility Policy (SMP).

In summary, there are a wide variety of national climate, transport and energy policies that are strategies which will benefit from the effective implementation of this ’Moving Together’ Strategy and many of these are complementary and mutually reinforcing. The next iteration of the SMP Action Plan will need to ensure continued alignment and accelerated delivery of ‘supply side’ measures that complement the roll-out of demand management measures. Embedding demand management principles into the MATS process and the development of the GDA scheme will be critical to advancing the objectives of this Strategy. Policy on the electrification of the private transport fleet will also need to take greater account of just transition principles in the context of so called ‘captive car users’ in certain areas.

A review of speed limits was undertaken in recent years with the final report published in September 2023. This Speed Limit Review was a high impact action during Phase 1 of the government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, and proposed a reduction in the speed limits across a range of different road categorises. The first phase of these changes – the reduction in the default speed limit on rural local roads from 80km/h to 60km/h - took effect nationally on 7 February 2025. This affects approximately 82,000km of road — about 80% of all roads.

It is intended that the second phase of the speed limit changes - the introduction of a 30km/h speed limit in built-up and urban areas - will be implemented by way of ‘special speed limit byelaws’, rather than ‘default speed limit’ as above. As the making of ‘special speed limit bye-laws’ is a reserved function, this means that local councils can determine the speed limits that are most

The co-benefits of this Strategy particularly in terms of road safety will be captured as part of the well-being framework for its evaluation (Chapter 12).