Irish cycle deaths peak - but is bad driving to blame?

I live in south Dublin... without exaggerating, the general standard of driving here is among the worst I've seen anywhere round the world (and I've lived in some wild places). There's an ill-mannered impatience on the roads, an apparent disregard for other road users, people talking on phones etc... and accelerating through the end of an amber light and the start of a red is almost a local sport. As The Kaner says, the Gards show little interest, and are largely invisible (due to huge cuts in their numbers) save for the odd ten-car Roscoe P. Coltrane style tax-disc blockade.

The problem is exacerbated by poor road surfaces, and the all-too-rare cycle paths which are generally in a state of disrepair or jammed into bus/taxi lanes (which frustrates taxi drivers as they have no room to pass... I can understand the frustration, but I've been in cabs that have deliberately swerved aggressively toward cyclists during the eventual overtake, presumably to teach them a lesson... it's frightening). Infrastructure is the best solution, but in a poorly-planned city like Dublin that often means hugely expensive and time-consuming road-widening schemes. I can't see the political will.

On the other hand, cyclists here do all the usual piss-taking 'rules/lights are for cars' manoeuvres (sure we've all had a go). Just to cover all the transport bases, I ride a motorbike as well... when I did my pre-test training years ago they taught us to ride as though everyone else was trying to kill us (and they are)... some form of road-awareness training might not go amiss for the cycling community. 

For example, for work I drive a panel van with no rear window, so it has an obvious big blind spot... I've lost count of the times cyclists have flown out of my blind spot at the last minute, shot past and undertaken me as I indicate to turn left at a junction... I'm fupping paranoid about killing someone. As cyclists we have to take an equal amount of responsibility for not creating a dangerous situation. 

Anyway, wish me luck cycling home tonight.

Ever driven in Ireland? The locals have an unwavering belief that nothing will ever imprede their progress, so 50mph around a blind bend on a 1.5 lane road is perfectly normal behaviour. If there does happen to be a broken down truck/cyclist/child in the road - they hit it - no chance to avoid what will be related as a "tragic accident"

Ireland has more unlicensed drivers on the roads due to the crap policing of unaccompanied 'L' drivers.
The Gardai ignore this fact and cite lack of funds/resources...yet recent changes in the law gave them the powers to issue on the spot fines to cyclists (for relatively minor infractions)...which they seem all too willing to police...easier targets I suppose.
Very rarely do drivers get prosecuted for death/injury to other road users (not just cyclists).
Rural incidents are more likely to be due to speed...even less resources to police these areas.
Dublin city incidents are most probably likely due to poor infrastructure, volume of traffic and inadequate protection for more vulnerable road users.
Of the deaths that have occurred within Dublin, I've yet to see any outcome with a decision of blame rested squarely on a driver, having seen pictures of a number of those incidents reported in the news, the damage to each vehicle would appear to show MAJOR impact to each vehicle, I'd guess that it wasn't the speed of any cyclist causing that type of damage. Also, a few incidents appear to be late night/early morning...poor attention?
Again, victims appear to have been regular/experienced cyclists and not newbies...some could say that maybe there is some contribution from the cyclist being over confident or some complacency...I have no hard facts to hand that would/could confirm or debunk that...but in my experience, which has been almost all rural cycling...drivers just do not give one fuck about the safety/well being of ANY road user (not even themselves or passengers)...and certainly not any vulnerable cyclist.

Is it due to the increased number of cyclists?

I have seen more and more cyclists on the roads here in Suffolk, so perhaps there are the same number of deaths per 1000 cyclists, but more cyclists means more deaths?

Terrible news but what evidence is there that this is a peak? For it to be declared a peak there must be evidence that subsequent figures will be lower. Is any action being taken to give us the expectation that subsequent casualty figures will be lower?