GARDAÍ WILL WAIVE documentation fees for the families of people killed in road crashes, the force confirmed this evening.
It follows a campaign by road safety group PARC, which was supported by a number of TDs.
Families of fatal crashes can be left with bills totalling thousands of euro for copies of reports. For instance, it was reported in March of this year that the families of the eight people who died in the 2010 Donegal road crash in Inishowen could each face costs of more than €10,000.
Over 250 witness statements were collected by gardaí in connection with that investigation.
Fees for copies of statements were almost doubled in 2011, from €21 to €40, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said in response to Dáil questions from independent deputies Clare Daly and Tommy Broughan in March.
In the same answer, she said that the fee for a copy of an abstract had been increased from €41 to €60 in the same year.
A Garda press officer said in a statement this evening that “following representations made to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, that fees for documentation in relation to fatal and serious injury road traffic collisions have been reviewed”.
From 2017, there’ll be a waiver for fees for documentation in cases where a fatality has occurred. In cases of collisions resulting in a serious injury, fees will be capped at €1,000.
“We are delighted with the waiver of fees for the families of those fatally injured,” Susan Gray of the PARC road safety group said in an email.
“After an eight year long campaign and three commissioners later we have finally been listened to by Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan.
At long last victims’ needs are being acknowledged and addressed.
A press release added:
“We are grateful to the Garda Commissioner for the opportunity to meet with her and her senior officials recently along with the bereaved to explain the pain and difficulties that families have to journey through.
“We are grateful for her time and empathy and her decision to remove these fees. PARC is happy that the Commissioner has opted for a compassionate approach to this issue.
We thank all those individuals who supported our campaign and stayed with us in our efforts through thick and thin over the past eight years.
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