The mother of a young man who died in a crash has called for “significant funding” to be put into Northern Ireland’s road network and planned upgrades to go ahead before more lives are lost.
Monica Heaney was speaking after three more deaths on our roads in recent days and news that more than £3.2m earmarked for the Northern Ireland Road Safety Partnership (NIRSP) has been returned to the Treasury over the last five years.
Ms Heaney’s son Karl died in a crash on the A1 in 2018. In 2021 a public inquiry recommended safety upgrades on the road, which forms a key part of the Belfast to Dublin dual carriageway.
Last year 71 deaths occurred on our roads – up from 68 in 2022.
So far this year the death toll stands at 45.
Tragedies: Conor Quinn and Karl Heaney (pictured) who both died in fatal crashes
The latest deaths include Robert Lee from the Ballymoney area, who died in a crash in Ballymena on Thursday. Last Wednesday, 18-year-old Daniel McCallister passed away in hospital three days after a two-vehicle crash in Markethill, Co Armagh.
Monica Heaney, who is part of the road safety campaign group Life After, said Northern Ireland’s roads network needs urgent improvement before more lives are lost.
“We’re always hearing there’s no money, and now we’re hearing money has been returned because it couldn’t be allocated elsewhere,” she said. “My son was killed on the A1 and the department [for infrastructure] recently said the money for safety upgrades will be allocated, but it’s taken such a push to get this far. Every death on our roads has a devastating impact.
“But more broadly, our whole network needs to be improved. It’s a vicious circle, because even the monetary cost of every road death on our is astronomical.
“You have police that have to attend the scene, road closures and all other costs. If the money could be spent improving our roads then the risk to life would be reduced drastically and money would be saved.”
The NIRSP aims to reduce the number of casualties on our roads through detecting speeding, however it can only spend its income from fines in line with set guidelines.
In the last five financial years a total of £3.24m unspent by the NIRSP has been returned to the Treasury, including £459,000 in the 12 months to April.
SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan said the return of millions of pounds for road safety initiatives is “deplorable”.
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Mr Durkan said “The Executive as a whole needs to look at strategic spending – for example, pumping money into road improvements rather than flushing £25m down the drain on public liability claims for vehicle damage.
“Every life lost on our roads is a tragedy. The rising numbers of deaths must serve as an impetus to do better and employ innovative thinking in terms of strategically spending available funds and exploring cross border collaboration to keep people safe and save lives.”
The PSNI explained the partnership is funded entirely by fines and fees and can only spend income in accordance with Government guidelines.
NIRSP has been lobbying local government and the Home Office for broader expenditure parameters.
“With the assistance of the Department of Justice, these wider parameters have recently been forthcoming and, as a result, NIRSP has developed a 2024/2025 investment plan and is in the process of recruiting a project manager,” a spokesperson said.
“Where possible the NIRSP will also look for opportunities to support implementation of the Northern Ireland Road Safety Strategy.”