Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the fact that the amendments are being withdrawn. We need to move ahead and not delay. This Bill is very important. I have always had serious problems with the idea of people leaving the scene of an accident. There may be various reasons for doing so and imposing these major penalties is a dangerous way to go. This proposal puts heavy jail sentences on people and I would be worried. A person could suffer concussion and there may be 1 million reasons someone would leave the scene of an accident. Criminalising people, whether young or old, and the threat of a sentence has a terrible effect on individuals. The health and safety of the injured people is very important. The Minister has outlined this point and I am happy with what he said on it.

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