Road Safety Authority branded ‘glorified spin-doctor’ as Kerry councillor renews call for its disbandment

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

A Kerry councillor has renewed calls for the disbandment of the Road Safety Authority following the government’s U-turn on splitting the agency up.

Councillor Jackie Healy-Rae branded the authority as a “glorified spin-doctor”, highlighting the money being spent on road safety adverts while road deaths continued to increase.

The government reneged on its promise to split up the RSA last month, with the junior minister for transport, Seán Canney, telling the Journal news website the organisation was small and to divide it would be costly.

An independent review by Indecon consultants in November 2024 recommended the authority be split into two independent agencies and fees for RSA customer services – such as testing and licensing – be reviewed.

“What I have seen the RSA become, especially over the last five to six years, is a glorified spin doctor, greasing the hands of media companies for flashy adverts,” said Cllr Healy-Rae.

He cited an RSA advert filmed in Clonakilty in 2023 which promoted 30km/h town speed limits. While it was a “beautiful, great piece of television”, Cllr Healy-Rae made the claim that the advert cost €1m to produce.

“We’re being codded up to our eyes in terms of what is considered good value for money,” he said, “but when the RSA hires consultants the price would triple, if not quadruple”.

“They’re prioritising that sort of campaign instead of practical measures.”

There were 189 road deaths in 2025, the highest number in over a decade, 600 arrests were made for drug and drunk-driving last month.

While road deaths stood at 375 when the RSA was established in 2006, Cllr Healy-Rae argued many other factors like safer cars and better road had contributed to the reduction.

“We’ve never had as much legislation, we’ve never had stricter penalties for speeding, for seatbelts…younger drivers and drink driving,” he said.

He pointed to road infrastructure as the “elephant in the room” and took aim at the council for “falling into the same trap”.

Kerry County Council has allocated €115,000 to the promotion of road safety in the county, which Cllr Healy-Rae cited as an example of the authority “spending far too much money on advertising and media campaigns”.

“We should be spending money on the junctions, the blind turns, the speed ramps and that’s what we should be spending our money on,” he said.

“We’re falling into the same traps big organisations like the RSA are. I have no faith in them to deliver on road safety in this council. I want to see this council getting real about road safety.”

At the same council meeting, Councillor Johnny Healy-Rae raised the issue of driving test waiting times which are administered by the RSA.

He claimed that waiting times had increased to over three months, arguing that getting a licence had become “very hard” for young people. A licence in a rural county like Kerry is of “upmost importance” he emphasised.

“They don’t seem to have any interest when it comes to the safety of junctions or bridges, or other things that would make a difference to saving lives on the road,” he added.