Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response and general acceptance of the first part of the Bill. I look forward to taking up his offer of continuing the work with his officials on putting together a comprehensive amendment to his Bill. I will certainly commit to working with the Minister. I recognise the points he made, particularly with regard to the potential for unintended consequences. Having reviewed the Canadian legislation, I note the further elements the Minister identified which could assist us in ensuring we do not have a situation in which somebody is found guilty of an offence even though at the time of the accident he or she sought to do all he or she could. I think we can find some common ground and a compromise in that regard.

In regard to the second part of the Bill, on the basis of what the Minister said about the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, I will not pursue that by way of an amendment. If we can make the provisions in the first part of the Bill on leaving the scene of an accident robust enough, the ideas I had with regard to the intoxication element of the Bill become somewhat redundant. I never saw the second part of the Bill as replacing the current law as it relates to random breath-testing or testing for an intoxicant, but only to add to the evidence before a jury to assist it in making a decision on what the intent of the individual concerned was. If we look at some of the provisions in the Canadian legislation and at other examples, we will be able to make an amendment robust enough to achieve what I think everybody in this House wishes to achieve.

I thank the Deputies who contributed to the discussion for their support and the points they raised.

I hope we can secure cross-party input on an amendment that will seek to ensure there is a change of culture in this country such that somebody involved in an accident will not believe, for whatever reason, that leaving the scene will afford them a get out of jail card. We cannot allow such a situation to continue. If we have an amendment to the legislation that is sufficiently robust to stand up to the best minds in the courts, we will have done a considerable job of work in memory of Shane O'Farrell. I was taken by the comments of other speakers about that case. There is no doubt that our motivation on this side of the House was in response to it and I hope, in the spirit the Minister has shown, this amendment will ultimately become known as "Shane's law" because we will have done something for the family and the families of many other citizens who lost their lives in such tragic circumstances. While it will not in any way deal with the loss of the individual families concerned, it will set a foundation on which we can continue to build on the body of law in place to help to protect citizens as they travel on the roads.

Specific issues were raised by Deputy Finian McGrath about the management of the case in the courts. The Minister has rightly identified that that is not something in which we can indulge here, but if we are to take anything from the decision, it is that we must ensure there will be no other similar outcomes. In doing our work and coming forward with a compromise legislative measure that will meet the needs of all concerned we can do something in honour of Shane O'Farrell and ensure his life which was lost in such tragic circumstances will not have been wasted, that it will have left an indelible mark on the Statute Book and that his death will not have been in vain. I hope his family and wide circle of friends will be able to take some comfort from the fact that as he was studying law, his death will have added to the body of law on the Statute Book in a manner that I hope will protect and preserve other lives.

I thank all those who contributed to and assisted with the debate. I look forward to the work we are all committed to doing with the Minister and his officials in drafting an appropriate amendment. I hope that legislation which will contain other important provisions to do with road safety can be expedited through the House as quickly as possible and that Shane's law can become an Act of Parliament at the earliest possible time.

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