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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has expressed concern about the marked rise in road deaths in the first half of this year whilst offering his condolences to the families of teenagers, Kiea McCann and Dlava Mohamed, whose funerals are taking place in Monaghan and Dublin on Thursday.
Ms McCann (17) and Ms Mohamed (16), who attended Largy College in Clones, died when the car they were travelling in left the road and hit a tree at Legnakelly in Monaghan on Monday night. Three other people were seriously injured in the single vehicle crash.
Speaking during a visit to Cork today, Mr Varadkar said that it was desperately sad to think that two young people lost their lives on the way to such a special occasion as a Debs ball.
“I am conscious that while we are here today there are two funerals under way – one at a church in Clones and the other at the mosque in Clonskeagh.
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“As Taoiseach, on behalf of the nation, I really want to extend my condolences and sympathies to the McCann family and Mohamed family and the entire community in Clones.
“Everyone has been impacted by this terrible tragedy – the Debs are one of the special occasions in Irish lives, it is a rite of passage that marks the transition from being a schoolchild to being a young adult.
“It is a time filled with opportunity and boundless hope – for two young lives to be cut short in such an untimely way and tragic manner has gripped the nation.”
Mr Varadkar also offered his condolences to the wider community in Clones whilst sending his best wishes to those injured in the crash.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach said he was “very concerned” about RSA figures released earlier this week which indicate that road deaths in the first half of 2023 were the worst for six years.
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“It is something I am very concerned about. I am a former Minister for Transport and somebody who has lost a family member in a road traffic collision. We have made phenomenal progress in the last 10 or 20 years in Ireland in reducing the number of road deaths
“But what we are seeing today and this year is not just a setback – it is a pretty enormous increase in the number of road deaths. I am greatly concerned about it. I have spoken to the Garda Commission [Drew Harris] about it. I met him last week. Certainly there will be greater resources for the RSA – and additional resources for road maintenance which is very important too.”
Mr Varadkar also urged members of the public to exercise due diligence on the roads.
“I would encourage people to be safe on the roads. There was a time when nearly 600 people every year died on roads in Ireland. I do not want us to go back to that.
“Too many families experience that. There were too many empty seats at dinner tables on Christmas Day because of that. A lot of it is down to our behaviour, how we drive. I would encourage people to bear that in mind.”