'Urgent action needed' after 125 road deaths and 600 serious crashes so far this year

Superintendent Kieran Ruane said attending the scene of the Cashel crash which claimed the lives of Thomas and Bridget O’Reilly and their grandson Tom was 'traumatic and very difficult for everyone'. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

The chairwoman of the Road Safety Authority is seeking increased penalty points for dangerous driving as it emerged there have been 600 life-changing crashes so far this year.

It comes as a three-year-old girl died on Wednesday after a collision in Portlaoise — the second toddler to die on the country’s roads in less than 24 hours.

The girl was seriously injured in the collision, which involved a car, in Fairgreen Estate in Portlaoise at 1.15pm Wednesday. She was taken to Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise, but was later pronounced dead.

In the first eight months of the year, 125 people died on Irish roads — an average of one death every two days — which is an increase of 25 on the same period in 2022, and 39 more than in 2019.

Flowers were placed at the scene of the crash in Cosby Avenue, Fairgreen, Portlaoise, Co Laois, where a three-year-old girl died on Wednesday afternoon. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

People under the age of 25 account for about a third of road fatalities.

Gardaí have confirmed that more than 600 “serious” crashes have taken place, accidents in which people suffered life-changing injuries.

Road Safety Authority (RSA) chairwoman Liz O’Donnell has called for urgent measures to reverse the damning statistics.

Ms O’Donnell said road safety needs to return to the top of the political agenda.

“We need urgent measures now to reverse this trend in road fatalities because we could have up to 180 people killed this year. These are preventable deaths.”

She called for lower speed limits and increased penalty points. And she said multiple penalty points “should be the order of the day for people who are doing seriously dangerous driving” and “more visible roads policing” is required immediately.

“I spoke to the Garda Commissioner last week about this,” she said. “He agrees that we need to extend the speed vans, to have more of those on the roads, because clear evidence shows that people do slow down if the vans are there. They are a good deterrent.”

Ms O’Donnell was speaking in the wake of the deaths of Thomas and Bridgie O’Reilly and their three-year-old grandson Tom on Tuesday night. They died after their car went out of control and smashed into a wall on a remote country road outside Cashel, Co Tipperary.

A teddy bear, a votive lamp, and flowers laid at the scene of the crash outside Cashel Co Tipperary where Thomas and Bridge Reilly and their three-year-old grandson Tom lost their lives on Tuesday night. Picture: Arthur Carron/Collins

That tragedy came just days after the deaths of Nikki Murphy, Zoey Coffey, Grace McSweeney, and her brother Luke McSweeney in Clonmel last Friday evening.

The first of four funerals of those who died in Clonmel will be held on Thursday. 

Parish priest Fr Enda Brady, who administered the last rites in Cashel on Tuesday, said: “Cashel is so close to Clonmel. You have a lot of connections between the two towns. 

"People in Cashel are still reeling from the shock of what happened last Friday and now they have to deal with the death of two more adults and a child. The town is numb.”

Flowers and votive candles left near the scene of the crash in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, where Luke McSweeney, his sister Grace McSweeney, Zoey Coffey, and Nicole Murphy died last Friday. Picture: Damien Storan/PA

Superintendent Liam Geraghty said: “We take using our roads for granted sometimes but using the road is probably the most dangerous thing you will do on any given day.”

Superintendent Kieran Ruane of Tipperary South Community Engagement Area described the scene his officers dealt with in Cashel as “traumatic and very difficult for everyone in attendance”.

He added: “While we wear these uniforms, and we have PPE equipment, it doesn’t stop us from seeing what we see and causing the emotions. It is difficult for first responders to deal with that. But we do our job.”