Cabinet set to sign off on plan to reduce speed limits

Kenneth Fox

The cabinet is set to sign off on a plan to reduce speed limits on roads across the country once it meets on Wednesday.

As the Irish Examiner reports, Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers will bring the memo to Cabinet which in time will see speed capped at 80km/h on national secondary roads.

The limit currently stands at 100km/h.

The limit on local and rural roads will drop from 80km/h to 60km/h and within towns, cities, and residential areas a limit of 30km/h will apply.

Roads on the fringes of urban areas will be capped at 50km/h.

Mr Chambers has said that "major action" is required to address the "fragmentation and inconsistency" of speed limits on our roads all over the country.

The Speed Limit Review is set to be published on Thursday and a taskforce will be set up to carry out recommendations in 2024 and early 2025.

Meanwhile, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien will seek cabinet approval for the drafting of the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2023 which will give effect to the recent changes made by the Electoral Commission to constituencies across the country.

Mr O’Brien will also update his cabinet colleagues on progress on residential dwelling supply for 2023.

It is understood 14,017 homes have been completed between January and June — the highest for this period since the series began in 2011.

More than 18,500 new homes commenced construction between January and July this year, up 12 per cent on the same period last year.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee is to bring a memo to cabinet with the text of a bill for the new domestic violence agency.