Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

This amendment inserts a new offence in Part 12. This new section requires a person to report immediately any railway safety hazard which he or she causes through some accidental or negligent act. I have in mind an incident in Selby in the UK a few years ago, where a Land Rover left the road and came to rest on the railway. This incident caused a catastrophic rail crash. Other incidents have happened in this country where trucks have dislodged the side parapet stone on a bridge causing it to fall on to the railway below. In such instances, this section will require the person responsible to report immediately the incident to stop rail traffic and avoid an accident. A person will be guilty if he or she fails without reasonable excuse to report the incident.

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