Two Government ministers rejected advice from officials to break up the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and give the Department of Transport responsibility for safety initiatives.
Minister of State for Transport Seán Canney blocked the proposal, saying he did not agree to the split and creation of two new entities, internal departmental records reveal.
A note said Canney believed the RSA was still capable of being managed as a single entity.
He said past failures of the authority in meeting targets for NCT vehicle roadworthiness tests and for driver testing were resolved by “providing them with adequate resources and with department and ministerial oversight.”
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Canney also suggested the “employment of well-known media or sporting personalities” as advocates for safety on the roads.
[ Disbanding Road Safety Authority would take up to two years, says Minister of State ]
“[Having them] to promote road safety events is worthy of consideration by the RSA,” a note said.
The internal submission on reform of the RSA was then passed to Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien for his comments.
“Minister O’Brien agrees with Minister Canney’s view as stated in the comments,” a note said.
The decision not to go ahead with the split sparked controversy, with concerns raised over the authority’s dual role in providing essential driving services while simultaneously trying to promote safety.
Internal documents show that right up to last autumn, civil servants believed major reform was on the way.
A ministerial submission said: “Officials propose that the current RSA is legally reformed into a new services and operations-focused non-commercial State body, while public interest work is delivered from a new Office of the Road Safety Advocate within the department, which will maintain a distinct brand and have additional safeguards of independence.”
The submission detailed how fatalities on Irish roads had returned to levels not seen in a decade. It said the RSA had also repeatedly failed to meet service level agreements on the provision of NCTs and driving tests.
It said while both were now back on track, this was only through “intensive long-term involvement” by the Department of Transport and its ministers.
“[It] attracted significant media attention while targets have not been met,” officials wrote.
The submission said the RSA’s funding model had come under serious pressure during the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis.
“At the same time, revenue declined as third-party suppliers of services were able to claim greater shares of service income through legally binding indexation clauses in contracts,” it said.
The RSA ran deficits in 2022 and in 2023. By the end of 2024, a supplementary budget was required.
The submission said these challenges had led to an external review by consultants Indecon, which recommended breaking up the authority.
“At the core of the recommendations is that the operational services run by the RSA should be separated from its research, media campaigns, partnerships and education programmes to improve road safety,” it said.
Officials said that while some progress had been made, a “clear political direction” was now required on the future of the organisation.
They recommended full reform of the RSA, breaking it into two parts, which was rejected by Canney and O’Brien.
Asked about the discussions, a department spokesman said: “Regarding the recommendation to separate the RSA’s operational and public interest functions, [the ministers] have decided not to pursue this recommendation and believe that reform can be delivered more efficiently and effectively within the existing RSA organisational structure.
“Officials have been directed to prepare revised reform proposals in line with this decision, and these proposals will be presented to Government before any reform progresses.”
The spokesman said the RSA was actively working on many of the recommendations made in the review of its work and was carrying out extensive reform.
