Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I recognise how quickly she has moved on this Bill. Unfortunately, I personally know a family who have been affected. Kimberly O'Connor, who I can now name because the case has been through the courts, tragically passed away on 19 February last year. Kimberly was a bright, artistic, caring young girl who had a loving family and her whole life ahead of her.

The issue, which this Bill now addresses, was that all along there was an added layer of hurt and confusion to people like Kimberly's family. Loving family and friends sometimes want to have the opportunity to express the grief and tell the story of the loved one they have lost. They need to be given this opportunity. I am glad to see that we are all coming together in the Dáil to recognise these grieving families and give them back their voice.

The car in which Kimberly was travelling on the night she passed away is known in slang terms as a company car, that is, an unroadworthy, uninsured and unlicensed car bought mostly by underage people. They buy these cars for half nothing and then use them for joyriding and spinning around. This loophole needs to be closed. There is nothing preventing young people from buying these practically unroadworthy cars. This needs to be stopped. We have lost too many young people especially, and too many have been injured using these cars. We need to step up now and stop this practice.

The result of that night is that Kimberly is unfortunately and tragically no longer with us, but also that one young man has serious injuries and another is now in prison. The effects of that night will live long in all those families and in the community, but in particular, Kimberly's family.

I ask the Minister to look at bringing in legislation to prevent these cars from being sold. If this car had not been sold then I would not be here now speaking about this tragedy. I sincerely ask the Minister to look at that with the Department. We can work together to close this loophole and make the roads safe for everyone.

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