'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.