asked the Minister for the Environment if he has any proposals to change the law whereby persons criminally involved in accidents involving the death of another person directly as a result of dangerous driving are only charged with a driving offence and not with either manslaughter or murder.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Motor Accidents Involving Death.
11.
Section 53 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, as amended, makes it an offence to drive a vehicle in a public place in such a manner as to be a danger to the public. Where such driving causes death or serious bodily harm, the offender is liable on conviction on indictment to a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and/or a £3,000 fine.
Before the passage of the 1961 Act, the offence of dangerous driving was a summary one, carrying a maximum penalty for a first time offence of a £50 fine and/or three months imprisonment. The indictable offence was introduced into the 1961 Act because of the difficulty of securing convictions for manslaughter in dangerous driving cases. To sustain a charge of murder, it would of course be necessary to prove intent.
For these reasons I do not propose to change the existing law. However, I should point out that the Director of Public Prosecutions can, at his discretion, opt to take proceedings for manslaughter where somebody is killed as a result of dangerous driving. Such proceedings are occasionally taken.
Would the Minister accept that there is a great deal of public disquiet because of the incidence of death as a result of joy riding, which is a relatively new phenomenon, and also with the on-going incidence of death as a result of drunken driving? Is the Minister satisfied that the law is satisfactory in regard to dealing with these problems and, if he considers the law to be adequate, can he account for the extraordinary sentences that have been meted out by the courts in cases in which the lives of innocent victims have been equated with extremely minor sentences? How can the Minister allay the fears and the disquiet of the families of the victims?
The Deputy is asking a number of questions.
I am concerned with what has been happening in this area but only late last year we passed the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act which had the effect of changing penalties radically. It empowered the courts to apply a prision sentence of five years and/or a £3,500 fine compared with a five year prison sentence and/or a £500 fine before the enactment of that legislation. Within the ability of my Department, dealing with fines under the Road Traffic Acts, we believe we have responded to the very serious situation outlined by the Deputy.
The Minister indicated that his Department are disturbed by the incidence of this type of road traffic offence. Has he any statistics in regard to these offences?
In 1980 the number of offences in respect of which criminal proceedings were commenced for (a) manslaughter and (b) dangerous driving causing death were two and ten, respectively. The corresponding figures for 1981 were none and 12 respectively while for 1982 the corresponding figures were one and five respectively and in 1983 the corresponding figures were one and seven respectively. These are the only statistics available to me.
I will allow a final supplementary from Deputy Flaherty.
Has the Minister any indication of the level of sentencing in these cases?
I do not have that information.
In a previous reply the Minister indicated that a great deal is left to the discretion of the DPP but in view of the level of public disquiet about even the kind of charges being preferred, would the Minister consider that there is any case to be made for some form of public accountability, perhaps by way of a committee of the Dáil, for the Office of the DPP at this stage?
That is a matter for another Minister.
Would the Minister agree that the amendment to the Road Traffic Act has done very little to eliminate the incidence of joyriding or has he any views on the matter?
That is a matter for another Minister.
My Department deal with legislation under the Road Traffic Acts and my ability was to bring the fines up to modern day levels. The problem referred to by the Deputy comes within the scope of another Department.
The enforcement of the Act is a matter for the Minister for Justice.