TD caught speeding en route to Dáil

THE Government’s deputy chief whip has been caught speeding at over 100kph on his way to the Dáil.

Billy Kelleher TD was pulled over by gardaí and issued with an €80 fine and two penalty points for breaking the national primary roads’ speed limit on the Cashel bypass, it emerged last night.

The revelation came as Transport Minister Martin Cullen claimed motorists breaking the speed limits were largely responsible for the rapidly rising death tolls on our roads.

So far, 53 people have died on Irish roads since the start of the year.

Mr Kelleher, a TD for Cork North Central, admitted yesterday he was on his way to the Dáil when his Saab car was stopped for speeding. It was the second time in 15 years he was caught speeding.

He is one of thousands of motorists flouting speed limits on Ireland’s roads, according to figures released by the National Roads Authority on Tuesday.

Mr Kelleher said he was “just exceeding” the limit.

“I’m making no excuses for it, I accept the punishment. We’re passing the laws and we hope people will abide by them.

“We all have to accept our responsibility. People do drive at excessive speed and we should all be conscious of our speed. I took the fine and learned my lesson.”

Midweek, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern warned motorists of an unprecedented garda crackdown.

“We’re putting a large number of gardaí on the roads, they’re going to set up checkpoints, it is going to be fairly difficult for ordinary law-abiding people on the roads. They’re going to see a far greater number of gardaí, but unfortunately with the kind of road deaths we have, then we have to impose it without fear or favour.”

Mr Kelleher was pulled over at noon of January 24.

“I apologised to the guard and he wrote out the ticket. I took it, accepted it, and forwarded a cheque and details of my driver’s licence to Thurles Garda Station.”

Meanwhile, gardaí did not yet release the name of the 73-year-old woman who died in a two-vehicle crash in Co Meath yesterday.

The accident happened at about 8am about one mile to the Trim side of Batterstown on the main Trim to Dublin road. The woman’s car was in a head-on collision with a lorry.