Govt preparing laws to protect gardaí during pursuits
Minister of State Seán Canney has said the Government is preparing legislation to protect gardaí when they are pursuing vehicles driving dangerously.
The Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, warned drivers to end up in jail or a grave if they drive the wrong way down a motorway. Following a fatal crash on the M9, gardaí are set to receive pursuit training. The crash occurred when a car carrying five teenage boys drove southbound on the northbound carriageway, hitting another car.
The five boys were killed, and four other people were seriously injured. The Garda Representative Association noted that none of An Garda Síochána members have received pursuit training. The Garda Commissioner has committed to commence such training this year, but the number of trained gardaí is not specified. Legislation is being prepared to strengthen garda protections regarding pursuit.
A separate offence is being considered to target those who deliberately drive their vehicles the wrong way down a motorway. Social media companies are urged to take responsibility and prevent the glorification of criminal behavior. The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, expressed shock and sadness over the tragedy and warned that such behavior is done for likes on social media.
The Garda Representative Association emphasized the immediate and foreseeable threat wrong-way driving poses to life and called for tougher legislation, enhanced sentencing, and accountability from social media companies.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
