Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Jul 1991

Vol. 410 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - County Wicklow Bus Crash.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Yates has given me notice of his intention to raise the matter as to whether a full inquiry will be held into the causes and circumstances of the bus accident yesterday on the Dublin-Rosslare route, the terms of the inquiry, when it will be carried out and the arrangements which have been made for the health and welfare of those involved and their families.

Deputy Kavanagh has given me notice of his intention to raise a rather similar matter as to whether the Minister for the Environment intends to hold an investigation into the horrific crash involving a CIE bus which injured up to 50 people on the N11 on 1 July on a stretch of road which has been repaired on several occasions and which recently has been the scene of a fatal accident as well as numerous other accidents.

As the matters raised by Deputies Yates and Kavanagh are very similar I suggest that the Deputies should first make their five minute statements, to be followed by the Minister for the Environment who will then reply to both Deputies. I first call Deputy Yates to make his five minute statement.

Mr. Yates

I thank you for allowing me to raise this very sad and important matter. I should say at the outset that the wife and three daughters of a close friend of mine were on the bus. I have very strong feelings about this matter and I do not believe it has been handled correctly by the Government. I do not say this in any political way. While important questions have correctly been raised in relation to the condition of the road, I believe the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications and Bus Éireann have responsibility for this issue. The Minister for Tourism and Communications who has responsibility for public transport should be present in the House to respond to the debate.

It is a miracle there was no major loss of life in this accident. This bus was driving on one side of the road when it careered off the road, turned over and ended up in a ditch, upside down, on the opposite side of the road facing in the opposite direction from which it came. The people at the back of the bus, including one of my constituents, a 15 year old girl, were trapped and could not get out. Very hot oil poured down the backs of two people. I visited Loughlinstown Hospital last night and tonight and I am aware that one gentleman has been extremely badly burned on his back. Other people are in intensive care in St. Vincent's Hospital. As I have said, it is a miracle there was not major loss of life.

In view of the gravity of this accident, I call on the Government to carry out, as is standard practice in relation to train accidents, a full public inquiry into this accident. I was in touch with the managing director's office of Bus Éireann today. He is on holidays but his office informed me they are carrying out an internal inquiry into the accident. I am not happy with this as such an inquiry will not be carried out in a totally impartial and independent way: that organisation will carry out the inquiry in their own way and the results may not be made public. In order to ensure that further accidents like this do not recur, it is vital that a full public inquiry is carried out, the outcome of which should be made public.

I have detected from the comments made by Bus Éireann both in the papers and to me that they believe the condition of the road caused the accident and that their driver and bus were all right. I drive up and down that road three times a week, virtually 52 weeks of the year and, while I accept that the condition of the road is unsatisfactory, I do not believe this was the main cause of the accident. My car has never overturned on the road. I want to state categorically that I do not believe the main cause of the accident was the poor condition of the road.

Having visited the hospital last night and tonight it is remarkable to think that no representative of Bus Éireann or public official has visited the hospital to see if these people are dead or alive. They have not shown any interest whatsoever in their welfare. Whatever about liability and subsequent claims for compensation, it is only proper that Bus Éireann should show some concern for their customers. One lady who has been discharged from hospital has to get home to Letterkenny tomorrow night but she has no way of getting there. No one from Bus Éireann has contacted these people to see how they will get home. Neither have they offered to provide transport for their families to visit them in hospital. Some members of a family from Enniscorthy will be discharged tomorrow while others will not. How will these people travel up and down to Dublin to see their relatives? This matter has been dealt with in an indifferent and complacent way. I very much regret having to say this but I am very dissatisfied with the way in which this matter has been dealt with.

If we want to have a successful intercity bus service it is very important that the public have the utmost confidence in the safety, speed and reliability of that service. If Bus Éireann want to promote greater confidence in their services it is vital for them to ensure that a public inquiry is carried out, that every provision is made to look after the health and welfare of the families and, in conjunction with Wicklow County Council, that every step is taken to prevent this type of accident occurring again.

In conclusion, I ask the Minister for the Environment to discuss the matter with his colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications, Deputy Brennan, to ensure that a proper inquiry is held. I could quote two recent instances, one in Claremorris and the other in County Kildare, where proper inquiries were held into train accidents. The fact that people were critically injured justifies the holding of a similar inquiry now.

An Ceann Comhairle

I call on Deputy Kavanagh to make a statement on a similar, if not, identical matter.

Mr. Kavanagh

I should like to thank the Ceann Comhairle, for allowing me to raise this important matter which is a source of concern nationally. This horrific accident on the N11 in my constituency involving a CIE bus in which 40 people were injured of whom 15 are still in hospital — three are seriously ill — warrants a full inquiry by the Minister for the Environment into all the circumstances surrounding it. Many questions, not only relating to the construction and design of the road but also to the reason the road has had to be reconstructed at this spot on three occasions during the past eight years at a cost of many millions of pounds, must be answered.

A farmer who lives on this stretch of road has had to attend at six accidents since the most recent reconstruction of the road which was completed three months ago. Only three weeks ago at the same spot an articulated lorry went out of control and hit an oncoming car, the lady driver of which was fatally injured. Other serious accidents have occurred but, thankfully, they did not have the same consequences. Mr. and Mrs. Hudson live in fear day and night that there will be a recurrence. It cannot simply be a question of the drivers of vehicles being to blame either totally or partially. Last Saturday when driving home from Arklow following the election count the road was like a sheet of glass as the tar had come through and was wet. It was frightening to drive on it as there was no adhesion.

Many millions of pounds of State and European funds have been spent on the road. There is a duty on the Minister to see that this money is spent in a proper fashion on behalf of the public. Everyone living in the area feared that a major accident would occur. Thankfuly, on this occasion there were no fatalities but, nevertheless, it has had serious consequences. The Minister will no doubt have received a full report on the accident from the emergency services in County Wicklow and have been made aware of the difficulties surrounding the reconstruction of the road at this point but the only way the Minister will be able to reassure us that all the facts will be made known and that action will be taken to ensure that the road is redesigned and reconstructed is by ordering a full public inquiry.

I should like to give one minute of my time to my colleague from County Wexford to express his concerns with regard to this road, Euro-route No. 1, the N11, which carries a heavy volume of traffic daily heading towards County Wexford and the boats for the Continent?

In conclusion, I should like to thank the emergency services which attended at the accident, the gardaí from Arklow, Wicklow and Gorey, the doctors — some of whom left their cars — the matron and almost the entire staff of Wicklow County Hospital, the ambulance staffs from many counties, the fire services, the local people, and the staff of St. Colmcille's Hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital and St. Michael's Hospital. All those people rendered valuable assistance on this occasion. We hope this will not be asked for in the future. The Minister should indicate to the House, and to the people of Counties Wicklow and Wexford, that an inquiry will be held to find out why accidents occurred so frequently during the past few years at this spot.

Mr. Howlin

I thank Deputy Kavanagh for allowing me to add my voice to those which have called for a complete and full inquiry into this horrific accident. We are lucky that there were no fatalities. There is tremendous concern in the Counties of Wicklow and Wexford about the quality of the road and the numerous accidents which have occurred at this spot. I do not wish to apportion blame tonight as that is not my job or that of any Member but we have to restore the confidence of the public who use what is supposed to be the most important road in Ireland, Euro-route No. 1 which links the port of Rosslare with Larne.

Last year 1.2 million people passed through the port of Rosslare. The port is growing and traffic on the road is getting heavier. A substantial amount of money has been expended on it and I am sure the Minister will give us details. It is ironic that the accident occurred at a location where works have been taking place for months. Those of us who use the road each day made representations to our colleagues in County Wicklow relating to the length of time it was taking to complete the road works. Road works were also completed there last year, yet accidents seem to recur. I use the road at least two or three times each week and, despite all the works and the expenditure of a large amount of money, it does not seem to have been improved. I add my voice to those who called for a full public inquiry to be held as speedily as possible into this horrific accident to ensure that any faults are rectified immediately to prevent a recurrence. I congratulate the emergency services who responded in a magnificent way to this tragic accident.

Minister for the Environment (Mr. Flynn)

Let me add my voice to those of the other Members who have expressed their deep concern at yesterday's accident. We are grateful that no lives have been lost and hope that the injured, some of whom are seriously injured, make a speedy recovery to full health. I know the House will join with me in expressing our praise and gratitude to the emergency services and hospital staff for their speedy and efficient response. Indeed, their efforts helped greatly in minimising the suffering of those involved. They deserve our praise and I join with my colleagues in expressing it.

I have been advised that the Garda Síochána have already launched a thorough investigation into the accident. In addition, Bus Éireann are also carrying out an investigation. My Department have consistently monitored on a specific basis traffic accidents involving buses. I have asked both the Garda and Bus Éireann to submit their reports to the Department when completed. Those investigations should be allowed to proceed to finality and if at that stage I feel a further examination is required the matter can be considered further under section 66 of the Road Traffic Act, 1968.

I am reluctant to comment further in case any such comment might be deemed to prejudice any possible court proceedings or civil proceedings which may be taken. However, I would like to record that the road works carried out in recent times in the vicinity of the accident location were improvement works rather than repair works. For example, prior to 1989, works which included road widening and the provision of turning lanes were undertaken. In 1989 road drainage works on both sides of the road were carried out and since 1990 road strengthening works have been ongoing. Deputies are quite right when they say that a great deal of public money has been expended over the years on this stretch of road. Of course, it is a vital artery in the road network serving the major link with the main port in the south. The section of road in question is a roadworks site where road improvements works are still being carried out and traffic is, therefore, driving on a temporary road surface. This fact is drawn to the attention of road users by nine elaborate road warning signs on a distance of just over one kilometre in advance of the point where the bus left the road. There are many signs, and I have some copies of them here, but we do not have to go into that this evening.

The accident happened in very bad conditions following a period of torrential rain which resulted in a great deal of water on the road. This factor together with driving on a temporary road surface certainly led to difficult driving conditions.

Deputies will remember that we launched a major road safety campaign last year which has been having some considerable success. Its success can be judged through the reduction in road deaths and injuries this year. In the first four months of the year provisional figures show that road deaths fell by over 26 per cent compared with the same period last year and we sincerely hope that the downward trend in road casualty figures will continue. However, this accident highlights the capacity for tragedies to occur and every effort must be made by all road users as well as the various statutory bodies to ensure that such incidents continue to be a rarity.

We are taking very careful note of everything concerned with the ongoing investigation into this accident. I will be considering the matter further when I have the reports.