Seven road deaths over June bank holiday weekend

Seven people lost their lives on Irish roads across the June bank holiday weekend. It brings to 77 the total number of people to die on the road this year, compared to 44 at the same time last year.

There were also more than 110 people arrested for drink or drug driving across Ireland over the long weekend.

“The weekends are showing up as a dangerous time to be out on the road, half of the fatalities are at the weekend. We’re really concerned about the rising trend this year,” Liz O’Donnell, chairperson of the RSA told Newstalk Breakfast today.

“The last few years we’ve had the lowest and safest record for road safety in Ireland and we have made great strides in bringing down road fatalities over the last 10 years.

“So we’re concerned that this year there is already 77 deaths and that’s way up on last year in the same period.”