The number of gardaí deployed to police the roads was reduced by 19 between the months of June and August, it has emerged.
There have been 136 people killed on the roads so far this year and figures show that Tipperary had the highest number of deaths at 14, Galway had 12, followed by Mayo with 11 and Cork with 10.
The latest figure was revealed in an answer by the Minister for Justice to parliamentary questions asked by Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín and Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy.
Mr Tóibín has said the reduction is "incredible" and it is part of a trend of a significant fall in the number of gardaí policing the roads for the last ten years.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said: "Right now we have the lowest number of gardaí policing the roads that we've had since 2009.
"Even lower than the austerity years, back when Templemore was closed. And there's a direct correlation between the number of gardaí policing the roads and the number of accidents that we have in this country. There's no doubt about that."
He added that "driver behavior changes if people know they're simply not going to get caught".
"And if the Government continues to reduce the number of gardaí and their intake on an annual basis it’s going to lead to increased deaths on the road.
"The same is true for the crime situation. We've seen an enormous spike in the number of violent crime and serious crime in the last year, and it's directly related to the inability of this Government to recruit gardaí where we need it."
Mr Tóibín said that Ireland has one of the lowest number of police per capita in the whole of the EU.
"Every year that Helen McEntee has been Minister for Justice, we've seen a fall in the number of gardaí in the State.
"There's no doubt that we need to make sure that far more gardaí are placed on the more dangerous roads.
"But if you look at the number of penalty points received in this country, for example, those penalty points are more likely to be received in the east coast, in counties with very good roads and far less penalty points are received in counties that actually have poorer roads and far more fatalities."
He said that the Government’s plan to reduce speed limits on certain roads has "merit", but it is "going to be pointless if it's not going to be policed.
"You can have any speed limit you like, but unless there is an understanding by drivers that there's going to be a penalty for speeding or for breaking the law well then behaviour is not going to change and then we're going to see, unfortunately, fatalities increase into the future."
The figures had been sought by road safety group PARC.
Susan Gray, Founder and Chairperson of PARC, said the figures are "shocking and it's heartbreaking for us as a group that supports families who have lost loved ones on our roads".
She added that the level of the reduction in the number of gardaí deployed to roads policing is surprising.
"That doesn't come across to us that the Government is serious and concerned about the level of road deaths," she said.
"We really don't see any proper reaction from the Government. They keep saying they are going to increase speed cameras. More speed cameras are welcome but they will never replace gardaí on the roads.
"Nothing will deter people better than the fear of getting caught and getting a punishment by gardaí at a road checkpoint.
She added that speed cameras will also never detect disqualified drivers or unaccompanied drivers.
The Road Safety Authority has warned that 192 people will be killed on the roads by the end if the year if current trend for fatal crashes continues.
Sam Waide CEO of the RSA will tell a meeting of the Oireachtas Transport Committee this afternoon that already this year 136 people have been killed on the roads, that's an increase of 26 on the same period in 2022.
In addition, 850 people have been seriously injured in road crashes so far this year.
Denis Cusack, Director of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety who is also appearing before the Committee says the factors causing road crashes include speeding, non-use of safety belts, dangerous and careless driving due to fatigue, driver lack of attention due to mobile 'phone use etc. and driving under the influence of intoxicants.
He said that of those who were tested for alcohol in 2022 "the large majority of drivers with alcohol intoxication are very drunk when driving and the predominant cohort is men under the age of 45 years"
Mr. Cusack says drug driving is now on a par with drink driving.
"Drug analyses results in 2022 from the 3,793 samples show 2,828 were found to be positive for at least one drug on screening, the first stage of analysis (cannabis, 1,979; cocaine 1,080 and benzodiazepines 509). The most frequently confirmed drugs on the second stage of analysis and certified by statutory certificate were cannabis (1,949); cocaine (889); opiates (214); and benzodiazepines (101). The drug patterns have continued into 2023 and those drugs continue to be the most prevalent drugs in driving under the influence of drugs."
He says speeding remains a top category driving risk and "practical measures to address this include lowering of the speed limits on certain roads to appropriate levels, education that the limits are not targets, an increased mobile speed detection programme, more fixed speed camera and average speed detectors."
The Minister for Justice has allocated an additional €1.2 million for mobile safety cameras for the last quarter of the year to increase the focus on speeding.
Paula Hillman Assistant Commissioner for Roads Policing and Community Engagement with An Garda Síochána will tell the committee camera locations will be chosen based on 2023 data showing highest risk of fatal road traffic collision and on the days and times where this risk is highest in seven divisions.
Those divisions are Clare/Tipperary : Mayo/Roscommon/Longford; Meath/Westmeath; Galway; Kildare/Laois/Offaly; Cavan/Monaghan/Louth and Cork County.
Figures from the Road Safety Authority show that weekends nights and early mornings are high risk periods - almost half of fatalities occur between Friday and Sunday.
The figures also show that many young lives have been lost this year. 12 children under the age of 16 have been killed and 35 teenagers and young adults aged 16- 26 have died.
In terms of location, the counties Tipperary, Galway, Mayo and Cork have seen the highest numbers of fatalities in 2023. Rural roads with a speed limit of 80km/h or more accounted for almost 7 in 10 of all deaths.
CEO Sam Waide says as part of their awareness activity they will engage with young people through You Tube music, Spotify, Twich and Tik Tok.
Assistant Commissioner Paula Hillman says there are currently 664 members of An Garda Síochána working directly on roads policing, out of a workforce of 13,910 garda members.
The fleet stands at 332 (218 vehicles and 114 motorbikes) 98 of the vehicles are fitted with smart technology that alerts the crew to the presence of untaxed and stolen vehicles
"It is also important to note that the prevention, detection and prosecution of roads policing matters is not solely confined to Roads Policing Units, colleagues on the front line, both in uniform and plain clothes also contribute to road safety.
"Overall, 75% of roads policing offences are detected by Roads Policing personnel and 25 % by other Garda members, with the exception of intoxicated driving where this trend is reversed."
Ireland has no static safety cameras and only two average speed cameras.
Assistant Commissioner Hillman there is a case for wider use of average speed cameras as in places where they are deployed there is a 97% compliance rate.
"There is an opportunity for wider use of technology both in terms of road safety and traffic management such as the management of bus lanes and compliance with traffic signs, and this is in the Road Safety Strategy.
"An Garda Síochána awaits the introduction of legislation that will allow us to further modernise."
She said: "Enforcement alone will not deliver the transformation that is required and equally road engineering and design are vital as are the continued education programmes and transformational policy and investment. Engineering, education and enforcement with significant advancements in technology in the use of safety cameras are collaboratively required."
