The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, has appealed to road users to be particularly careful during the bank holiday weekend. Gardaí will mount a special road safety operation, Taisteal, which started last night and continues until midnight on Monday.
The campaign will focus on speeding, drink-driving, non-wearing of seat-belts and the behaviour of young male drivers, according to a Garda statement.
Nine people were killed during the last August bank holiday, the Minister recalled.
"Statistics show that there were 68 fewer lives lost on our roads in the six-month period between November 1st, 2002, and June 30th, 2003, than in the same period in the preceding 12 months," Mr Brennan said.
"However, the number of fatalities in recent months highlights the need for better road behaviour. We are all very aware of the high numbers of road accidents that have been a feature of recent holiday weekends. I again ask all drivers to accept your own personal responsibility to keep within the speed limit, always wear your seat-belt and never drink and drive," he said.
The Minister also cited figures which show that pedestrians, motorcyclists, pillion passengers and pedal cyclists comprised almost 40 per cent of road deaths this year.
The National Safety Council reminded drivers that penalty points for seat-belt offences will come into effect on August 25th, with up to four penalty points and fines of up to €800 being issued to those convicted.
Drivers will have a legal responsibility to ensure that passengers aged under 17 are using a seat-belt, and that children under four use an appropriate child restraint.
Mr Pat Costello, chief executive of the National Safety Council, said: "The real problem in Ireland is in the back seat. Only 20 per cent of rear-seat passengers are restrained.
"Tragically between 1996 and 2000, three-quarters of child passenger fatalities were not wearing a child restraint or seat-belt."
AXA, the insurance company which supports road safety awareness campaigns, advised against complacency by drivers, in the light of an increase in road fatalities in May and June. Deaths were up 38 per cent on last year's figures for those months.
Bus Éireann press office confirmed that the company expects to carry 100,000 passengers during the bank holiday weekend.