Cut in fees for road-fatality families urged

MORE THAN €3.3 million has been paid to the Garda over the last six years by relatives of people killed in fatal collisions, their legal representatives and insurance companies in fees for documents relating to the crashes.

Charges of €41 for a crash form and €21 for each witness statement can result in payments of several hundred euro from families of road victims.

The issue had been raised repeatedly by road safety group Parc (Public Against Road Carnage) which has requested the fees be waived for immediate families. However, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has ruled out any change in the policy.

Figures obtained from the Garda show the amount of fee income has fallen over the period, in conjunction with a drop in the number of fatalities.

In 2003 the Garda collected €653,672 in fees, with €566,814 in 2004, €518,830 in 2005, €517,760 in 2006, €515,130 in 2007 and €523,978 last year. In 2003, 335 people died on the roads, rising to 396 in 2005 before falling to a record low of 279 last year.

Susan Gray, founder of road safety group Parc, wants the fees abolished for immediate families “because gardaí are recouping their costs three-fold; from the families, lawyers and insurers. I am aware of a number of families who have paid over €300 to get access to these photocopies, and the fee system can delay access to this vital information.”

In a reply to a parliamentary question by Labour Party transport spokesman Tommy Broughan, Mr Ahern said relatives were entitled to an “abstract of the police report, copies of witness statements and sketches or maps of the scene”.

The fees for these “abstract reports and copies of witness statements and photographs are charged in order to recoup costs incurred in the preparation of same”, he said. “There are no plans to provide an exemption for such fees at this time,” Mr Ahern said.

Relatives of those killed in crashes often use the Garda documents to find out what happened in the crash.

A Garda spokeswoman said fees were set by the Department of Justice to recoup costs and the system was not under review.