Donegal County Council
has explained why it is seeking a judicial review of
an investigation into a fatal crash in Inishowen.
The local authority is seeking a legal review of the
Health and Safety Authority decision to further
probe the accident that claimed the life of Sinead
McDaid six years ago in Culdaff.
Ms. McDaid, who had recently got married, died when
her car skidded on a road that was undergoing
resurfacing work.
County Manager Michael McLoone told councillors the
local authority sought to protect the rights of
Council staff and rejected any suggestion it wanted
to stop the HSA crash probe.
“The issue arose as to whether or not there were any
legal liabilities or criminal liabilities arising in
the manner in which staff performed their duties,”
said Mr. McLoone.
The Council chief added that there were a number of
reasons for seeking the review, namely; getting
clarification on the legal framework being used to
undertake the investigation; the law had changed
from the original Health, Safety and Welfare at Work
Act and previous investigations into the accident
had come to conclusion.
Mr. McLoone added: “It’s important that we have
available the judicial review process where we can
actually ask the court to look at all of the legal
issues that are involved so that the rights of the
family are protected and the rights of staff are
fully protected.”
He said many of the issues involved in the case
needed to be clarified within a legal framework
including the “proper legal representation during an
investigation” and the “legal context in which any
investigation would take place”. |
