Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important matter. The term "accident" is unfortunate because it implies that a road accident happens without cause, but there is always a cause. I refer to an incident in which a girl aged 22 years was killed on a road in Donegal in 2001, through no fault of her own. Her car was perfect. She drove at a low speed but she died because the road had not been left in proper condition.

There has been no proper finding about what happened there. Her family have lived in limbo since then, seeking justice for their daughter, by trying to find out who was responsible for taking this lovely girl so cruelly from them and from her husband. She was not drinking or speeding, she was going about her business, getting on with her life.

It is said that 4.5% of road accidents are caused by road conditions. This is only the tip of the iceberg. In Mayo, Aisling Gallagher was tragically killed because of someone's failure to complete a road surface. She also had every right to drive on that road and arrive home safely to her family, which she did not. For the same reason, lack of a proper road surface, five girls were killed on a school bus in Kentstown.

I have called for an audit of these cases which are not properly investigated. They are not investigated because people whom we pay to do a job are not doing that job properly, according to the regulations. When these accidents occur no one will investigate a local authority. Neither the National Roads Authority, nor the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will take responsibility.

The case of Sinéad McDaid is particularly tragic. She was driving on the road at 7.30 p.m. on 12 June 2001. Donegal County Council had newly resurfaced the road earlier that day. There was a bump on the stretch of road, which the workmen left covered in chippings when they finished, and there was only one small sign to warn the public of this. Maybe there was another sign which had fallen on to the side of the road.

Sinéad did nothing wrong yet she skidded off the road. Statements made at the inquest suggested that the chippings were responsible. The gardaí were called on 999 but said they were never called. A garda said he arrived on the scene but left, leaving the scene exposed, and returned later. When he returned he commenced measuring skid marks in the chippings left on the road.

The next morning Sergeant Michael Murray, discredited by the Morris tribunal, arrived at the scene to take photographs. He apparently was not available before this time. His photographs of the scene showed three warning signs on the road instead of the single one and the one that may have fallen on the side of the road. Two signs and a cone were put in place after this girl died and then the photographs were taken.

Not alone did the gardaí investigating the accident and Donegal County Council fail to preserve the scene but they used a road sweeper to sweep up the chippings. That is highly unusual. There are procedures for sweeping up road chippings which should have been followed but were not.

Neither the gardaí nor Donegal County Council reported the accident to the Health and Safety Authority as is required by law. There is an agreed memorandum of understanding that there is a commitment to liaise on the ground at the earliest opportunity to share information and co-operate to ensure an effective investigation, but this never happened. There is a serious conflict in this case. In the civil action taken by Sinéad's husband the photographs taken after extra signs were added were submitted to the High Court.

Nobody has ever taken responsibility for this girl's death. Following an investigation by her father, skid marks submitted as those of Sinéad's car have been proved to belong to the tow truck that pulled her car out of the drain. There have been major problems in this case, including no proper health and safety plan, and a serious conflict of evidence provided by the gardaí and Sergeant Murray, between what the gardaí at the scene said and the photographs.

Somebody must take responsibility for this case.

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