A Fianna Fáil MEP has called for a novice driver curfew and the roll out of AI cameras that fine people who use their phone or don’t wear a seatbelt.
Ireland South representative Cynthia Ní Mhurchú said road safety figures are “going in the wrong direction”, with significantly more people dying than in previous years.
On The Hard Shoulder, Ms Ní Mhurchú said young drivers are at greater risk on the road at nighttime.
However, she added that she does not believe in a blanket curfew and there are “always going to be exceptions”.
“Our youngsters need to drive,” she explained.
“They need to get jobs late into the night and early into the morning in order to pay for college fees because we've got a cost of living crisis.
“But we should consider stricter night-time curfews for novice drivers unless they were commuting to work.
“We've learned from other jurisdictions that it does work when they place a curfew on novice or learner drivers, banning them driving between midnight and 5am.”
A teenager learner driver celebrating passing his driving test waving his L plates in the air. Picture by: Alamy.com. Ms Ní Mhurchú continued that Ireland needs to “catch up” with neighbours in France and the Netherlands, who have begun the roll out of AI cameras that detect if a driver is breaking the law.
“They automatically detect whether a driver is on the mobile phone or failing to wear a seatbelt and that generates automated fines,” she said.
“Now, we know we are building up our Garda numbers again and we all want more enforcement in person through An Garda Síochána on the streets and on the roads.
“But we have to look at the tech in the meantime whilst we build it up.”
A speed traffic camera over a motorway. Picture by: Alamy.com. Ms Ní Mhurchú added that she would like to make it easier for people to upload footage of those drivers who behave irresponsibly.
“Gardaí are always appealing for camera footage,” she said.
“In the UK, road users who have the footage are allowed to upload it immediately if they've got cycling camera footage of dangerous driving.
“They load it up directly to a police portal called Operation Snap and that routinely leads to direct prosecutions.”
So far this year, 73 people have died on Ireland’s road - six more than during the same period in 2025.
Main image: Speed cameras. Picture by: Alamy.com.
