With the nation reeling from the events on the M9, local politicians have said that a combination of factors contributed to the tragedy.
The lack of pursuit training for Gardaí has been identified as a contributing factor to the incident, which claimed the lives of five young men and seriously injured four others, while the lack of social media moderation has been cited as another major factor.
Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly said that Ireland’s Presidency of the European Council, which requires a large Garda presence, is taking Gardaí away from areas such as Dublin 15 and Gardaí are unable to take part in pursuit training owing to their commitments during the EU Council presidency.
The Dublin West TD said, “I have spoken to Garda members who are deeply frustrated with the current situation regarding the policing arrangements for the EU presidency.”
“I cannot understand why we are not utilising the defence forces for the many static posts that are currently being manned by Gardaí who are needed in our communities.”
The Sinn Féin TD said, “we have Gardaí who cannot switch on the blue lights as they have to wait months and sometimes two years for training.”
“We’ve a handful of Gardai who are ‘pursuit’ trained; it is shocking.”
Donnelly remarked, “the Minister for Justice will kick all these questions over to the Garda commissioner, and that’s not acceptable.”
Donnelly’s Sinn Féin colleague Mark Ward was prescient in his July calls for Gardaí to be granted pursuit powers.
Speaking in July, the Dublin Mid-West TD said Sinn Féin spokesperson for community safety, Mark Ward TD, has called for the government to take serious consideration to provide funding for scrambler pursuit training for Gardaí.
At the time, Ward said, “Gardaí need protections to be able to pursue scrambler users who are breaking the law.”
Despite the passage of Grace’s Law, Ward claimed that “nothing has changed in our communities since this law was brought in.”
“Scramblers are still being used to plague our areas. Gardaí are not able to pursue drivers, as they have not had the proper training for safe pursuits,” Sinn Féin’s Dublin spokesperson said.
“The Garda Representative Association has also called for legislative protections to be put in place for Gardaí who engage in pursuits of illegal scrambler drivers,” Ward said at the time.
Dublin Central TD Gary Gannon said that the M9 incident is a microcosm of Ireland’s current legal system.
“The issues raised by Garda representatives are not new – and the government cannot pretend that they are,” the Social Democrats TD said.
Gannon criticised junior transport minister Sean Canney for comments he made, where Canney claimed that the government were waiting for the Gardaí to “tell them what they need.”
“This was an extraordinary comment as they have been telling the government what they need for some time now,” Gannon stated.
The Social Democrats justice spokesperson said “the GRA called months ago for specialist pursuit training, a comprehensive national pursuit framework, and a dedicated professional driving licence for Garda members carrying out this work.
“The association has been explicit that no member of An Garda Síochána has been provided with a specialist pursuit skillset,” he noted.
“These problems have been identified, and the solutions have been put on the table; what has been missing is delivery.”
Gannon, who serves on the Oireachtas Justice Committee, said that he raised the issue about pursuit powers being granted to Gardaí but was told this was not possible in the intermediate future owing to Ireland’s EU Council obligations.
“Given recent tragic events, I must question the government’s priorities. While Ireland has obligations arising from the EU Presidency, this cannot come at the expense of giving gardaí the operational training needed to deal with dangerous drivers,” the Dublin Central TD said.
“The reality is that people are driving dangerously today and stolen cars are refusing to stop. Gardaí need the ability to respond appropriately.”
He dubbed the GRA’s description of current Garda driver training as “unbelievable.”
The GRA noted that many members are operating at CBD1 – competency-based driving level 1 – essentially the most basic Garda driving qualification
At that level, gardaí are not even authorised to use blue lights and sirens.
Gannon pointed out “yet those same gardaí can find themselves confronted with stolen vehicles, drivers refusing to stop, extreme speeds, and now, increasingly, vehicles travelling the wrong way on a motorway.”
“We cannot put Gardaí in those situations without specialist training. At the same time, failing to pursue can allow dangerous drivers to believe that refusing to stop is an effective means of escape.”
Gannon asserted “this is not about encouraging reckless pursuits. It is about giving gardaí the skills, legal protections and operational framework to make extremely difficult decisions safely.”
Social media’s role in the tragedy has come into the spotlight (see page six for more), and Gannon said that TikTok should come under scrutiny.
“Videos of people driving dangerously, using scramblers recklessly, refusing to stop for gardaí and taunting members of the force are rampant on TikTok and other platforms. Behaviour that can kill is being turned into entertainment and rewarded with views, likes and algorithmic reach,” Gannon said.
“TikTok and other platforms should be identifying and rapidly removing content which clearly glorifies extreme, dangerous driving and the government should be engaging directly with Big Tech companies on this.”
He stated “the government does not need another consultation to establish that there is a problem. The Minister for Justice must now deliver the training, legislation and resources that gardaí have been crying out for.”
Gannon’s Social Democrats colleague, Dublin North-West TD Rory Hearne, has been critical of Ireland’s EU Presidency taking away resources from Ballymun.
Ballymun Garda station has lost at least 10 Gardaí to redeployment as part of policing efforts to support the EU presidency.
“Ballymun and Finglas are communities in dire need of more high-visibility policing, additional community gardaí, and youth diversion programmes. We should not be cutting their resources under any circumstances,” Hearne stated.
“Taking garda resources away from these communities flies in the face of the recommendations of the Ballymun – A Brighter Future report, the work of the Ballymun Implementation Board, and the consistent calls from the community for additional supports.”
The Social Democrats TD stated, “disadvantaged communities cannot pay the price of Ireland hosting EU events and delegates. We need a guarantee of maintaining and increasing community policing in Finglas and Ballymun, and a scrapping of these reductions.”
“In February last year, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said that he is conscious that Ballymun ‘is an area which requires investment,’ but said that he did not think ‘there will be any shortage of commitment from the government on that.’ We’re now seeing the opposite,” Hearne remarked.
Green Party councillor Hazel Chu said that Ireland has the power to take TikTok to task over their role in the tragedy, but are choosing not to.
“Ireland has had the regulatory levers in its hands for years, yet we are still waiting for the and Coimisiún na Meán to tackle this issue.”
“The hypocrisy is stark. Ireland holds the EU Presidency, with child online safety identified as a priority, and we are hosting a major EU conference on online safety for children and young people in September. Yet at home, we are still allowing for platforms to profit from content that can damage children’s wellbeing and normalise dangerous behaviour,” the Dublin City Council member said.
On Thursday, it was confirmed that TikTok would not appear before an Oireachtas committee on media despite being summoned to appear by Labour TD Alan Kelly.
Under Irish law, individuals or organisations called to appear before an Oireachtas committee are not legally obliged to do so.
Kelly dubbed TikTok’s refusal to attend “a slap in the face” to the Irish public.
“The committee invited TikTok for a very clear reason. We want to understand the processes currently in place to protect users, particularly younger users, from content that glorifies dangerous, reckless or illegal behaviour,” he explained.
“TikTok is one of the most influential social media platforms in Ireland and is the platform of choice for many young people. With that influence comes an enormous responsibility,” he said.
Kelly said he was calling on TikTok to “immediately reconsider” its decision and accept the committee’s invitation.
“The issue of a Garda investigation being ongoing as an excuse for not coming is a red herring, while if they want us to invite in other social media companies with them I’ve no problem with that; this matter is far too important for them to treat the Irish public this way,” he said.