MINISTER OF STATE for Transport Seán Canney has said that Storm Éowyn may cause delays to the installation of new reduced speed limit signs on rural local roads across the country.

Default speed limits on a number of rural local roads are set to decrease from 80km/h to 60km/h on 7 February, as part of a government strategy aiming to bring down the number of fatalities and injuries caused by traffic collisions.

As such, all speed limit signs on these will have to be changed by 7 February to enforce the new reductions.

Speaking at the launch of a Bank Holiday weekend road safety appeal, Canney warned that the storm, which caused a number of road blockages due to fallen trees and power lines, had caused some complications to the installation of the new 60km/h signs.

“I hope the signs will be installed by then, but with the storm that we’ve had, there could be some disruption,” Canney said.

“We’ve had such destruction over the last week in terms of the storm that our roads are still very much a risk, so we have to be very careful.”

The Department of Transport is working alongside local authorites to ensure the speed limits signs are entirely replaced by the time the speed limit reductions come into effect.

Cork County Council, who are responsible for replacing the signs for hundreds of kilometres of rural local roads, confirmed to The Journal that they intend to have all signs replaced by 7 February.

Canney said that he knows that “all the posts are in place and the signs are ready to go up”, adding that he was “confident” that all 80km/h speed limit signs on rural local roads will be changed or replaced by 7 February.

‘Not a target’

Speaking on the speed reductions, Canney warned that speed limits “are not a target”.

“I think young people may believe that because the speed limit is at 80km/h, they can drive at 80. That’s not the case,” Canney said.

Minister of State Seán Canney pictured alongside Paula Hilman, Assistant Commissioner of the Garda Roads Policing and Community Engagement unit Andrew Walsh / The Journal Andrew Walsh / The Journal / The Journal

“The fact that it’s been reduced to 60km/h puts the mindset that 60 is the upper limit. But in all cases, people should be driving safely.”

People aged 25 and under made up 35% of fatalities on Irish roads last year, with 60 young people dying as a result of collisions in 2024.

Seven in ten fatal road collisions occurred on roads with a speed limit of 80km/h or greater. 

“You have to travel carefully, and you have to make sure that you have full control of your car at all times,” Canney said.

While the change to rural road speed limits will come into effect on 7 February, there are more reductions in store later this year, although the Department has not specified exactly when.

Later in 2025, the speed limit in some urban locations called “urban cores”, which include built-up areas, housing estates and town centres, will go down to 30km/h.

The speed limit on national secondary roads will also reduce from 100km/h to 80km/h.