Motorcycle deaths in the Republic have increased sharply this year, with recent good weather among the factors being blamed.
There have been 39 deaths so far, accounting for 18 per cent of total road deaths, although motorcycles comprise less than 2 per cent of road users.
Last year, there were 41 motorcyclist deaths over the whole year, meaning that motorcyclists comprised 11 per cent of road mortalities.
In June, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, announced plans to raise the minimum age for holding a provisional motorcycle licence from 16 to 17 years, introduce compulsory training courses for motorcycle drivers and make L-plates mandatory for provisional motorbike licence-holders.
It was claimed that these new measures could save about 30 lives a year, and that they would be introduced gradually over the course of the year. But none of the measures is in place yet.
The National Safety Council's communications executive, Mr Brian Farrell, attributed the increase in deaths to weather conditions favourable to motorcyclists.
"The mildness of the weather this year has meant that there are more motorcyclists on the roads. This has been compounded by the lack of proper training received by many motorcyclists. We were at the National Motorcycle and Scooter Show in the RDS last March, and surveyed 900 riders. Seven out of 10 of them had no formal training," he said.
The National Safety Council yesterday appealed to motorcyclists to complete an Irish Rider Training Association approved rider-training course.