THE SPEED LIMIT APPEALS PROCECURE

The Minister of Transport formally launched the Speed Limits Appeals Procedure in December 2021. A revised Speed Limit Appeals Procedure was subsequently launched in March 2023. This procedure is intended to facilitate a legitimate query that a member of the public or interested party may have regarding a particular speed limit.  The procedure is also intended to expedite the process of reviewing speed limit queries raised between full Local Authority speed limit reviews, which can typically be up to five years.

The Speed Limit Appeals Procedure operates as follows:

-   The initial appeal to the relevant Local Authority,

-   There is an option to then escalate the appeal to a National Review Panel should the applicant not accept the decision of the Local Authority Panel.

There is no fee payable for the submission of an appeal to the Road Authority.  However, if an individual wishes to escalate the appeal to the National Panel a fee of €125 must be paid by the applicant to the Local Authority.  This fee is refundable if the appeal to the National Panel is successful. Both panels shall review speed limits that are referred to them in accordance with the ‘Guidelines for Setting and Managing Speed Limits in Ireland’.

Please note that this procedure is not a means of appealing a speeding offence. Making amendments to speed limits is a reserved function of the Elected Members of the Council. This appeals process, while providing recommendations in accordance with the Speed Limit Guidelines, does not change the statutory powers of Elected Members to exercise the Reserved Function.  The ultimate decision remains with the Elected Members.

The appeals procedure and relevant forms can be downloaded at www.speedlimits.ie  Completed Appeals Application Forms, relating to speed limit within County Roscommon should be posted to the Roads and Transportation Section, Roscommon County Council, Áras an Chontae, Roscommon, F42 VR98 or by email to roads@roscommoncoco.ie