Minister for Transport Martin Cullen has dismissed claims that the Government is delaying guidelines to allow for special speed limits outside schools as "fatuous".
Speaking in Co Roscommon today, Fine Gael front bench spokesman Denis Naughten accused Mr Cullen of incompetence in delaying the guidelines for nine months.
He said local authorities have not introduced special speed limits due to "the failure of the Minister and the Government to publish rules governing the procedures for signage and civil works".
He added that local authorities have been instructed not to act on speed limits until they receive the guidelines from the Department of Transport and accused the Government of attempting to blame local councillors for the delay.
"This incompetent Minister has left children in a lethal situation. He must not wait for a terrible accident to occur to act," said Mr Naughten.
Responding to the commments, Mr Cullen said that the Government had empowered councilliors to play a direct role in setting speed limites and had published guidelines to all city and county managers at the start of April regarding speed limits. The guidelines took effect on April 18th and were addressed at each council meeting at that time, he added.
"Deputy Naughten is a member of a party who holds the balance of power on most councils. Surely it would serve the public better for Fine Gael to instruct their councillors to act rather than feign a sudden interest in speed limits the week schools return," he said.
A spokesman for the National Safety Council said that 30km/h speed limits should be introduced in "pedestrian-rich" environments but that these limits would not work without traffic management measures such as speed ramps and chicanes.
Local authorities have been consulting with communities in an effort to review speed limits since metrication was introduced on January 20th.
Four people have died on the State's roads over the last week. A total of 253 have died in crashes so far this year, a reduction of five on the same period in 2004.