Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman for giving me the opportunity to contribute on this Bill. I commend my colleague, Deputy Timmy Dooley, for introducing it. I thank the Minister for his response, as this is a question of citizens' safety, protecting their rights and ensuring they have justice. It should not be a political issue. We all have a vested interest in road safety. We know what problems there are, but the Deputy's legislation zooms in on a major issue that needs to be addressed comprehensively.

Leaving the scene of an accident is a red line issue for me. It is not acceptable for anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs to leave someone dead or injured on the side of the road. It is welcome that this legislation strengthens the Garda's capacity. Hit-and-run accidents are too commonplace around the world and we know of the horrific tragedies suffered by families. I welcome the legislation and its provision of a sentence of imprisonment of up to ten years. Some of its measures are derived from examples of good practice in countries such as Canada and Australia, but in the event of someone dying as a result of a hit-and-run incident, I would go further and opt for the Canadian model, in which the driver is sentenced to life in prison.

An important point has not yet been mentioned. Many citizens believe the justice system is letting them down in these issues. I am annoyed when I see people being given sentences of three, four or five years in cases where intoxicants and the death or injury of others are involved, as people also end up in jail for petty, non-violent crimes. We should have a specific category to deal with the former offences. As they used to say years ago, if one does the crime, one does the time. People should stop whinging about it. I welcome this element of the Bill.

It is welcome that the Minister is present to debate the issue. Many people have stories. A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of meeting one such person, Ms Lucia O'Farrell from Magheraboy, Carrickmacross, County Monaghan. She came to Dublin to meet me to talk about her beautiful son, Shane, who had been killed on 2 August 2011. A young college student in Dublin, he was killed in a hit-and-run incident by a driver who was out on bail. She had written to the Attorney General and the Minister for Justice and Equality to make her case. I raised it in the Dáil. Essentially, everyone claimed that nothing could be done about it. I am referring to this case because it is relevant. The family believes it has been let down by the justice system, as a number of incidents occurred prior to Shane's death in what Ms O'Farrell described clearly as a hit-and-run murder. One hour before he was killed, the occupants of the car had been pulled up at a Garda checkpoint and the driver had taken no alcohol. In her letter Ms O'Farrell's letter writes:

The driver was asked to switch, as he was also uninsured. This implied that an hour later he was alcohol free when he murdered Shane. This was not a Garda Checkpoint, this was an unmarked drug squad car sitting in the ditch, and pulled up this car as the registration was flagged on their system. No breathalyzer was used, No drug test on the road side. They were asked to switch drivers and they were searched. They were waved on. Our family wanted to stand up and tell the truth, but we knew that was not allowed, unfortunately; we are law abiding people, and we expected the State to do what they are expected to do, their job.

There are serious questions to answer in this case. It is appropriate that I read from another part of her letter, which reads: "Shane would frequently say, "You are guilty of all the wrong you do, but you are guilty of all the good you don't do as well." How right he was. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport should examine the Shane O'Farrell case of 2 August 2011 and determine what happened. I will contact the Minister for Justice and Equality again. What about Shane's human and constitutional rights? This case should have been about Shane, not about hiding the truth in order that people would not get into trouble. The individual in this case got off scot free. It is important that we raise these issues, as families and victims are hurting. Justice is not the Minister, Deputy Varadkar's brief, but I urge him to examine the Shane O'Farrell case closely.

When we address the broader issue of road safety, we must ask hard questions of the Minister. Are the campaigns working? Sometimes I believe they are going well when, all of a sudden, there are a number of deaths or injuries and the average statistics go out the window. Law-abiding citizens get caught in these campaigns. Regularly, constituents complain to me about getting two penalty points for being a few miles over the limit in a safe area. They take the hit and pay the €80 fine, but they see rich and powerful people walking away from penalty points. That is unacceptable. There seems to be one law for the rich and powerful and another for the average law-abiding citizen. These are the issues being brought to me as a backbencher and I will raise them in the House. People believe they are being scapegoated. We hear a great deal about the squeezed middle. Hundreds of thousands of law-abiding people go down to the shops and get two penalty points for driving 60 mph in a 50 mph zone or so on. Something else happens to them then and they regularly make massive contributions. However, they see hit-and-run drivers and others getting away with only four or five years in prison for shooting or stabbing someone. "Hold on," they say, and they wonder whether there is any balance in the justice system. We need to link this debate on hit-and-run drivers and road safety with the issue of equality in the justice system. These are important points.

The bottom line in addressing the issue of intoxicated driving is not drinking in the first place. It was a part of the culture years ago when people used to have two or three pints. Many Deputies and members of the older generation used to do it. Now, however, if there is any doubt, do not drink at all.

I welcome Deputy Timmy Dooley's legislation. I commend him on introducing it, as it is an important part of the debate. Road safety is important, but so is justice for the victims of hit-and-run incidents. Law-abiding citizens are fed up being scapegoated in many of the campaigns. They want reform and quality in the justice system.

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