Byrne criticised for blaming fatal crashes on young

Road safety tzar Gay Byrne must stop blaming young people for fatal accidents and should resign, it was claimed today.

The employer of two siblings who were killed in yesterday’s collision with a lorry outside Portlaoise called on the veteran broadcaster to take more responsibility for the increasing death toll.

Tom, 22 and 19-year-old Mary Frewen from Kilworth, Co Cork were among the 12 people killed in a 48-hour period since Sunday morning.

The death toll for 2006 has now reached 217 – 22 more than at the same time last year.

Declan Corbett of the Corbett Court Hotel in Co Cork where Tom and Mary worked with three other members of their family criticised Mr Byrne and Justice Minister Michael McDowell.

“This is probably the worst experience for myself and all the staff in Mitchelstown,” he said.

“I’m after coming down now from the Frewen household and I think if Gay Byrne or Michael McDowell witnessed what I witnessed, he wouldn’t be coming out about this rant blaming the young people of Ireland, taking the blame off himself and Gay Byrne.

“This is something that really hurt me and the whole locality here, when we heard Michael McDowell on the radio.

“It is Gay Byrne’s problem. He was given this job. He shouldn’t have been given this job. This is the typical ’Dublin 4 jobs for the boys'. A job like that should be given to somebody in rural Ireland, somebody like Sean Og O hAilpin that the young people of Ireland will look up to.

“Sean Og is a role model on and off the field. I’m asking Gay Byrne today to do the decent thing and resign. In the space of 36 hours, there were 11 people killed. What is happening. We only hear ranting from McDowell and Gay Byrne. There’s no action being taken and they won’t take any of the blame. ”

He called on Mr Byrne to leave Dublin and visit the scenes of fatal accidents. Another member of staff at the Corbett Court Hotel died in a nearby road accident three months ago.

“If Gay Byrne was doing his job properly, he would be man enough to take some of the responsibility. The gardaí at the scene made it quite clear that speed was not the problem. So McDowell and Gay Byrne, they want to keep blaming the young people – speed, drink, this thing and the other.”

Earlier today, Mr McDowell said: “Blaming the state is not the way to get on with this. It’s Irish motorists who must get the message.

“It is dangerous, speedy, drunken and careless driving that is causing deaths, not the gardaí,” he added.

Mr Byrne said on RTE Radio: “Gardaí are doing the best they can, but they tell us there are not enough to do the things that people require them to do. People are responsible for their own driving techniques and their own behaviour on the roads.”

Mr Corbett remarked that the Frewens were probably the model Irish family.

“Their upbringing was superb and it is heartbreaking on all their friends and staff,” he commented.

Mary Frewen was rostered to work on Saturday but Mr Corbett gave her the day off to go to the Oxegen music festival in Punchestown.

“I didn’t sleep a wink last night,” he added. “It was going through my head a thousand times. It’s a pity I made that decision. It probably cost Mary her life.

“If I was asked to pick a model rural family, I’d have to say the Frewens. This is a family that any parents would aspire to. Absolutely wonderful.”

He said members of staff broke down as they watched footage of the crash scene on yesterday’s Six One news on RTE television.

The accident also claimed the life of Paul Geary, 21, from Mitchelstown and another male occupant is still being treated in the Midlands Regional Hospital, where his condition is said to be critical.