Dail group hears harrowing tales of Slane dangers from residents

The tragic story of 22 deaths on Slane Bridge over the past two decades and an horrific account of the recent multi-car accident in the village were relayed by residents of Slane to the Oireachtas Joint Committee for Transport last week. Members of the joint committee who were present at the meeting in Leinster House were deeply shocked by the presentation made to them representatives of the community in Slane. They were invited to come to the village to see for themselves the horrendous pressures villagers are under on a daily basis doing their everyday business whether it be going to school, to Mass or to work. The joint committee gave a firm commitment to the Slane group that it would put the Slane case on the agenda for its next meeting with the NRA and demand urgent action on the matter. Norma Kealy, who was one of a number of local people involved in an accident in the village in March, asked committee how they would feel if they and their family"s lives were in constant danger every day of their lives. She recalled the morning in March when she was involved in the accident. She said a group of mothers had just dropped their children off at the national school. 'We were driving southwards, along the N2, down the steep approach to the crossroads in the centre of Slane village. My three-year-old son was in the back of my car and one of the other mothers had her 19-month old baby with her. 'While stopped at the red light, suddenly there was a loud bang from behind. In our rear-view mirrors, we saw a HGV coming towards us, with no sign of slowing. 'We knew immediately that our cars were going to be hit, but there was absolutely nothing we could do and, for the majority, there was nowhere to escape to on this confined section of roadway.' The joint committee was told that several violent impacts followed as the HGV ploughed down the hill through the traffic, the force of its momentum smashing our cars into each other. 'I speak for everyone when I say that I will never forget the shock, fear and panic I felt in those few moments,' she told the committee. She added the crash happened immediately after the morning school-run. 'If this pile-up had occurred just 10 minutes earlier, the results would have been catastrophic. The victims would have included even more children. 'Over the years, many children have been caught up in a number of incidents, most notably the bus crash on the bridge in 1985 involving 46 children and the tragic and completely unnecessary death of two-year-old David Garvey in 2001,' she added. John Ryle of the Slane Bridge Action Committee said they had been campaigning for a bypass since the last fatality at Slane Bridge in February 2001. 'We believe it is the only solution to end the dreadful history of horrific accidents which have occurred periodically for the last 50 years in the village of Slane and at Slane Bridge and its approaches. This two-mile stretch of road from McGruder"s Cross down to and over Slane Bridge and up to the top of the village, is in the top one per cent of accident blackspots in Ireland. 'All so-called solutions implemented to deal with the problems have proved to be hopelessly ineffective. Signage, traffic-calming measures, speed controls and traffic lights just cannot stop uncontrollable trucks descending a steep incline,' he said. Mr Ryle said the Government and the NRA had not addressed this problem with any great conviction. 'The selected route (of the bypass) is now subject to alteration for the third time over a period of seven years. We interpret this as constructive procrastination on the part of the Government and the NRA. The failure of the Government to include the construction of a bypass for Slane in both the National Plan and Transport 21 is the major cause of the predicament in which we find ourselves day after day.' Deputy Shane McEntee said the joint committee had been greatly shocked and impressed by the presentation. He said he would be addressing his Fine Gael front bench colleagues next week with a seven-point road safety plan which would include the provision of a bypass for Slane.