A new Road Safety Officer for Donegal is to be appointed in the coming months.
An ‘acting’ officer has been in the position since the long-serving Brian O’Donnell retired in April of last year.
Donegal County Council confirmed to Donegal Daily that they expect to appoint a full-time officer in the coming months.
“It is hoped to have the position of Road Safety Officer filled in the first quarter of 2024,” a council spokesperson said.
The appointment to the vital role will be timely given that ten people, including three pedestrians, were killed on Donegal roads in 2023, up from eight the previous year.
The four years from 2007 to 2010 were some of the worst on Donegal roads in recent history. During that time, a shocking 73 people lost their lives in the county. In 2007 alone, there were 22 road related deaths, followed by 18 in 2008, 14 in 2009 and 19 in 2010. However, the figures have been mostly single digit since then, but spiked to highs of 13 in 2013 and 11 in 2015. In an interview before he retired last year, Mr O’Donnell, however, stressed that “one life lost is one too many.”
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