Labour Transport Spokesperson Tommy Broughan T.D. has asked Transport Minister Noel Dempsey to explain why the Irish government has decided not to sign up to a new in-car emergency communication system, "eCall", that could save up to 2,500 lives a year on the roads across the EU.

Deputy Broughan said, "eCall is an in-car safety system that will automatically alert the emergency services to the location of a car that has been involved in a serious collision, even if the passengers do not know or are unable to say where they are. It has been estimated that the full deployment of eCall could save up to 2,500 lives a year on roads across the EU and decrease the severity of road injuries by 10% to 15%.

"Most EU states have already signed up for the voluntary rollout of eCall which involves the car and communications industries as well as making sure that each state’s national emergency services are equipped to facilitate eCalls. The necessary technology to implement eCall is in place and common standards have been agreed by the industries involved and national emergency services to begin the rollout.

"However, Ireland is one of six states (with the UK, Malta, Latvia, France and Denmark) that has still not signed up to the eCall Memorandum of Understanding, reportedly for "cost related concerns."

"Transport Minister Dempsey must now explain why he has refused to sign up to eCall and what the cost implications of this in-car safety system are given the clear road safety benefits that eCall would bring about for Irish road users."