Officers told not to pursue car on wrong side of motorway, says Ireland's police body

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has stated that Gardaí (Irish police) were directed to cease pursuing a vehicle that was traveling on the wrong side of a motorway prior to a fatal collision. The incident occurred on the M9 motorway in County Kildare on Sunday morning, resulting in the deaths of five teenagers. Among the victims were two women in critical condition, another woman and a seven-year-old boy in serious condition.

Tara McManus, Assistant General Secretary of the GRA, informed the BBC that police roads policing officers lack pursuit training. The teenagers had been in the car for several hours before the crash, and Gardaí had tried to engage with them to halt the vehicle multiple times. Once the car made evasive maneuvers, officers were given orders to disengage.

The Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, announced plans to introduce pursuit training this year. The crash happened on the M9 Northbound at Junction 3 around 03:00 local time. The deceased teenagers have been identified as Joe Carthy from Athy, Alex McCarthy from Carlow, Kamil Pustkowski from Limerick, Jeremy O'Brien and Jack Kennedy.

St Michael's Boxing Club in Athy expressed deep sorrow over Joe Carthy's death and condolences to the injured and their families. The GRA supports harsher punishments and driving bans for dangerous road behavior, with McManus stating that pursuit training is essential for officers. In a separate incident, a car was also seen driving in the wrong direction on a motorway in the Republic of Ireland, causing concern for the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, who expressed worry that some individuals are engaging in such behavior for social media likes.