Call is made for more speed cameras on Mayo roads

Councillors have called for more speed cameras to be installed in Mayo after a camera on the N17 between Knock and Charlestown recorded over 11,000 speeding detections in just 11 months.

The call came during a lengthy discussion on road safety in the Claremorris and Swinford Municipal District, with councillors also calling for greater enforcement against speeding drivers and a safety review of the N17 between Knock and Charlestown.

There are currently two speed cameras installed in Mayo. A pair of average speed cameras on the N5 Swinford bypass between Lislackagh and Cuilmore, and a static camera on the N17. The latter camera issued 11,476 fixed charge notices over an 11-month period between May 2025 and April 2026, the second-highest amount nationally.

Cllr Richard Finn said the success of the camera demonstrated the need for more to be installed on major roads. He also claimed the cameras can effectively pay for themselves through fines.

“There have been over 11,000 detections. If anyone can tell me that a camera is not viable with that type of turnover, it beggars belief. There is a need for more cameras."

Cllr Finn said the council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) are currently spending significant amounts of money rectifying past shortcomings in road safety measures. He argued that a “small investment in cameras will save a lot of money” and that the cost would be recouped quickly.

“As a person who would probably be as good a culprit as anyone else in driving along,” he joked, “if I get caught I get caught, that is my problem, not anyone else’s."

“I can’t see why we aren't rolling more out around the country."

Cllr John Caulfield said the camera on the N5 had made a positive difference and called for more to be installed around the county. While acknowledging the initial cost involved, he said the cameras become “self-funding and save lives” once installed.

Cllr Michael Burke said roads in the county had become safer since the cameras were introduced, but added that the council and TII can “only do so much”, adding: “At the end of the day it's down to driver behaviour and speed."

Cllr Neil Cruise questioned why the camera on the N17 is static rather than an average-speed system like those installed on the N5.

“Sadly, there were a lot of fatalities along that stretch. How that isn’t constantly monitoring speed from A to B like the one on the N5, I can’t understand,” he said.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.