89 people killed in road accidents in Ireland in first 7 months

A total of 89 people were killed in 80 fatal road accidents in Ireland in the first seven months of this year, according to a report released on Thursday.

The comparable figures for the same period of last year were 78 fatal collisions, which resulted in 83 fatalities on Irish roads, said the report from the country's Road Safety Authority.

This represents almost a 3-percent increase in fatal collisions and a 7-percent increase in road deaths compared to the 2018 figures, it said.

The Irish government's road safety strategy is to reduce road deaths in the country to 124 or fewer by 2020, said the report, adding that road fatalities in the country would need to average around 10 or less per month to achieve the target.

But the average number of road deaths per month for the first seven months of this year was 13, it said, indicating a tough job for the Irish government to achieve its 2020 road safety target.

According to the report, during the first seven months of this year 79 percent of the road fatalities occurred on rural roads in the country and 49 drivers were killed in road accidents, followed by 15 pedestrians, ten passengers, nine motorcyclists and six pedal cyclists.

The report also found that Sunday was the most dangerous day with a total of 21 fatalities reported on the day as of the end of this July.