Mayor 'very concerned' about the alarming road deaths increase in Kilkenny

Mayor of Kilkenny David Fitzgerald said that he is ‘very concerned’ that so many lives have been lost on local roads in 2022.

There were nine (9) road deaths recorded in Kilkenny in 2022, provisional figures have shown.

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This is a huge increase in fatalities compared to the previous year when two (2) were recorded in the county.

The 2022 figure places Kilkenny in tied-fourth position for the number of road deaths per county, alongside Wexford.

Only Cork (13), Dublin (13) and Limerick (10) recorded a higher number of deaths.

“Nine fatalities in one year is a huge cause for concern," Mayor Fitzgerald said, "especially given Kilkenny’s population compared to some of the other counties.

“Looking at the figures, there appears to be a significant issue around pedestrians and pedestrian safety.”

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The Mayor cited the Ring Road in Kilkenny City as a prime example of where pedestrian safety needs to be addressed urgently.

He also added that he has been calling for the N77 at Henebry’s Cross to be realigned for years given its notoriety for accidents.

Statistics released last year also highlighted the fact that two roads that run through South Kilkenny, the N24 and N25, are amongst the most lethal in Ireland.

The danger associated with these two roads has been a consistent focal point of attention for the councillors in the Piltown Municipal District, and they have recently made presentations to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) on the matter.

Nationally, the total number of road deaths in Ireland increased by 13% from the previous year.

The figures were published by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) following an analysis of provisional fatal collision reports by gardaí.