To ask the Minister of the Environment if he would consider legislation to make wearing helmets compulsary for cyclists.

To date the Department has not given formal consideration to making the wearing of cycle helmets mandatory. Rather, and based on the research evidence currently available, the Department’s policy is to advise and encourage all cyclists to wear approved helmets. The Department for Transport has recently commissioned further research into cycling safety including a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of cycling helmets. It is hoped that the outcome of this work will help to inform DOE’s future policy direction on this issue in a way that will keep cyclists safe and is acceptable to all interested parties. Cyclists’ safety will also form part of the considerations of the Department in arriving at a new road safety strategy for Northern Ireland to be published in 2010.