Concerning rise in road fatalities, Mayo conference is told

A resurgence of social activity post Covid has led to a sharp increase in deaths on Irish roads with 144 mortalities recorded by the end of last month, 29 more than for the same period last year, the annual conference of the Coroners Society of Ireland heard at the weekend.

The conference, at the Mount Falcon Hotel in north Mayo, was hosted by the outgoing President of the Society, Crossmolina based Dr. Eleanor Fitzgerald Loftus.

In a presentation to the convention, Velma Burns of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) outlined what she described as 'a very concerning rise in road fatalities'.

At the end of September, Ms Burns explained, there had been a 33 percent increase in road deaths over the same period in 2022.

She outlined: “We are seeing an increasing number of fatalities among (vehicle) passengers, pedestrians and among motorcyclists. Thirty seven pedestrians have been killed this year. That is quite a jump on other years. A quarter of this year’s fatalities were aged from 16 to 25. Half of all fatalities occurred late at night, between 8pm and 8am, into the early morning hours. Also half of the fatalities occurred at weekends, between Friday and Sunday.

“This is a pattern that has re-emerged after changing during the pandemic years. We are back into the pattern that we have seen pre-pandemic. The fatalities are occurring late at night and in the early mornings and at weekends coinciding with increased social activity.”

A further consistent pattern, Ms Burns outlined, is that seven in ten fatalities are occurring on high speed rural roads, routes with a speed limit of 80km/h or greater.

In a presentation to delegates, Suzi Lyons of the Health Research Board, outlined what she described as 'a sustained increase' in the number of poisoning deaths here with 409 such deaths recorded in 2020, the highest number ever reported.

Ms Lyons said that in 2020 there had been a fivefold increase in deaths where cocaine was implicated. The number of such deaths had risen from 24 in 2011 to 130 in 2020.

She added she was not surprised by what the research had revealed given the prevalence of cocaine use in almost every part of Ireland.

At the opening of the conference James Browne, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, TD, gave an address in which he explained work is underway in his department to generate proposals for a wider reform of the national coroner service.

At the conclusion of his address, the Minister was told by Pat O’Connor, a Council member of the Coroners Society, that coroners are 'extremely disappointed and upset' by the fact that FEMPI (Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest), introduced by the Government some years ago to reduce the cost of services, had not been reversed in the case of coroners as it has been for all civil and public servants.

Mr O’Connor said last Tuesday’s Budget had represented a 'golden opportunity' for the cuts to be reversed.

Responding, the Minister said a number of groups including coroners did not get restoration.

“We are raising the matter with the Department of Expenditure and Reform who are responsible for pay to see if pathways can be found”, the Minister promised.