ieExplains: Here's what you need to know about the changes to speed limits
The Department of Transport believes that by introducing “more consistent and appropriate” speed limits, road deaths in Ireland will be reduced.
Speed limits are being reduced on hundreds of Irish roads in a bid to tackle road deaths across the country.
The Department of Transport believes that by introducing “more consistent and appropriate” speed limits, road deaths in Ireland will be reduced.
- Default speed limits on will decrease from to ;
- The meaning of the , a white circle with five diagonal black lines (pictured below), will also change from to ;
- The speed limit in urban cores will be reduced from to.
- The speed limit on national secondary roads will go from to .
The first two changes listed above will come into effect .
From this date, speed limits on rural local roads will decrease from 80km/h to 60km/h. New speed limit signs will replace existing ones to reflect this change.
Local roads are any roads that are not motorways, national roads or regional roads. They are numbered with four- or five-digit route numbers, prefixed by "L" — for example L1234 (you can find out more about the different roads in Ireland below).
, the speed limit in urban cores, which include built-up areas as well as housing estates and town centres, will be reduced to 30km/h from 50km/h.
The speed limit on national secondary roads will also be reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h.
When asked when exactly later in 2025 would be, a Department of Transport spokesperson said:
"The timeline for the implementation of future phases of speed limit changes will be informed by the upcoming rollout of the local rural road speed limit change, and will take cognisance of the reaction, behavioural response and quantified impacts such as collisions."
These changes are being made under the Road Traffic Act 2024.
are the major routes between major urban centres and they include . They are numbered N1 to N50, while motorways are indicated by the prefix M followed by a one- or two-digit number. The speed limit on motorways is 120km/h, while it is 100km/h on national roads. Examples include the motorway from Cork to Dublin and the which is the South Ring Road in Cork
are numbered N51 to N99. Essentially, these roads connect larger towns which are not served by National Primary Roads. Dual carriageways fall under this category. National Secondary Roads have a default speed limit of 100km/h, however, this limit will be reduced to 80km/h later this year. Examples include the near Mallow in Co Cork.
could be considered as connecting regional towns to each other. Regional roads generally have a speed limit of 80km/h, however, as they frequently pass through towns, villages, and other built up areas, lower speed limits are often in place on them. There are also a small number of regional roads, often sections of former national roads bypassed by other road improvements, which have a speed limit of 100km/h. Regional roads are numbered with three-digit route numbers, prefixed by the letter R. For example, the connects Bandon to Bantry in Co Cork.
Finally there are , or rural local roads, which make up the majority of the country's 100,000km-long road network. It is these roads where the changes to speed limits from February 7 apply.
Local roads can be considered any road not classified as a national primary, national secondary, or regional road, and they most often provide access to homes, farms, and smaller communities. As such, these roads vary significantly in terms of width and quality. Some are wide urban streets while others are narrow country roads or boreens.
These roads had been subject to a default speed limit of 80km/h and 50km/h in built-up areas. From February 7, this general default speed limit has been . Local roads are numbered with four- or five-digit route numbers, prefixed by "L", like in the picture below.
The speed limits are being reduced in order to combat an increase in fatalities and serious injuries on Irish roads over the last few years.
In Ireland, almost (73%) in 2020-2024 with a speed limit of . Almost half (47%) of all serious injuries occurred on these roads.
In 2024, 174 people lost their lives on the country’s roads, while in 2023, there were 180 fatalities.
In relation to the reduction of speeds in urban cores, the Government has said: "Most unprotected road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, only survive collisions when vehicles are travelling at 30km/h or less.
"A modern car can protect occupants up to 50km/h in a side collision and a safe car can protect occupants up to 70km/h in a head on collision.
"The risk of being killed or seriously injured is much higher for collisions at higher speeds."
In the same way as they have always been. As with all speed limits, it will be an offence to exceed the stated limit.
Drivers who are caught exceeding 60km/h on roads that have changed speed limit will face a fine of €160 and get three penalty points. If you do not pay the fine within 28 days, it increases to €240.
If you do not pay this within 28 days (56 days from the original fine notification date), you will be summonsed to court where, if convicted, you could be fined up to €1000 and receive up to five penalty points.
The fine and penalty points apply to a driver caught speeding on any road.
The Government’s current road safety strategy focuses on achieving ‘Vision Zero’ — zero road deaths or serious injuries by 2050.
Commenting on the changes, a spokesperson for the Department of Transport said: “Every single death is a tragedy for the victims’ families, friends and community. Serious injuries can also have a life-changing impact on the individual and their families.
“Road safety is a key priority for Government, and reducing speed limits aims to curb this trend and bring down the number of fatalities and serious injuries on Irish roads.”
The speed limit changes follow a number of key recommendations from the Speed Limit Review, which was undertaken by the Department in 2023.
The review was part of the last Programme for Government.
It was overseen by the Department of Transport and the Road Safety Authority and included representatives from An Garda Síochána, the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, and the City & County Management Association.
