Calls were made for Department of Infrastructure (DoI) Minister Michelle Hayward to resign during a heated debate about 20mph speed limits in the House of Keys.

Onchan MHK Rob Callister was not happy with the lack of consultation with members over plans to introduce the speed limits.

At Tuesday’s sitting, he warned the minister that if she did not seek Tynwald approval before rolling out any speed limits, he would be calling for her resignation.

When she said she would not be submitting her resignation, Mr Callister replied ‘you should do, it’s arrogance’.

But Speaker of the House Juan Watterson warned members he would not allow personal attacks on ministers.

Mrs Haywood confirmed she would bring the debate before Tynwald by the summer and share analysis of the feedback to members.

She said work to introduce speed limits in Onchan and Douglas would not be completed until September and the Tynwald debate would take place before then.

Engagement is currently taking place on a project to implement 20mph speed limits in residential areas across the Isle of Man, as part of a phased rollout by the Department of Infrastructure (DoI).

The initiative aligns with the ambitions of ‘Our Island Plan’ to improve quality of life, create safer streets, and support community wellbeing.

No new traffic calming measures will be introduced under the scheme, with the focus instead being on signage, public awareness, and encouraging compliance through behaviour change.

Schools will also see enhanced safety measures, with updated signs and flashing lights installed to remind drivers to take extra care.

The rollout has already been put in place in Port St Mary with Onchan and Douglas the next two areas where the speed limits will be implemented. The project expected to expand to towns and villages across the island over the next two years.

However, the change has sparked local debate, with a petition to halt the DoI’s plans gaining over 3,000 signatures. On Tuesday Glenfaba and Peel MHK Kate Lord-Brennan asked Mrs Haywood about the lack of communication and consultation about the speed limits.

Mrs Haywood said: ‘The department’s communications with the public were primarily focused on the first delivery phases of the scheme at Port St Mary and then Douglas and Onchan.

‘We did not proactively address the scheme for the rest of the island, and we regret treating this project like any other traffic regulation order as we should have recognised public interest was significantly higher for this particular scheme.

‘We are committed to improving our communications and strategies to better serve the community in the future.’

But Mrs Haywood refuted claims Tynwald had been disregarded. She said there was a two-week consultation to allow local authorities to respond and extensions given.

But she admitted this order was always going to attract more interest and debate.

She said: ‘We should have seen this was going to be bigger and should have seen it would generate some more noise and I am sorry it was just published through our normal route.

‘In this case I should have picked up on it and I should have dealt with it a bit better.’

Mrs Haywood said stakeholders have been consulted, including the police through the roads policing team, and she said she believed ‘we have developed a comprehensive and well-informed approach to the scheme’s development’.

The department will take any objections and concerns into account and can amend the draft order if required, she explained.

There had been 700 items of correspondence from the consultation to date which Mrs Haywood said will take a while to assess that but she will share it when they can. She said the order will then be introduced area by area.

Mrs Haywood also pointed out that lots of the correspondence she has had has been in favour of the speed limits.