The FOI Files: A meeting on motorway safety was held after the M9 crash. Why were no minutes taken?

SeriesThe FOI Files

Members of the public also sent numerous emails on potential solutions to wrong-way motorway driving.

The FOI Files is a series from our team at The Journal Investigates. Each week, one of our investigative journalists brings you inside the fight for information that we’re all entitled to. They’ll share their documents, their stories – and tips on how to take the journey for yourself.

This week’s file is from investigative journalist Conor O’Carroll.

See here for The Journal Investigates’ most recent investigations.

IN THE WAKE of the M9 crash in which a car was driven down the wrong side of the motorway, a meeting was held at the Department of Transport to discuss what could be done in response to the tragedy.

The crash resulted in serious injuries for a family that was travelling to Dublin Airport for a holiday, while the five teenagers driving the car that was travelling in the wrong direction were killed.

I had sought records from the Department of Transport following news of a meeting between roads minister Seán Canney, the Road Safety Authority (RSA), Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and An Garda Síochána to discuss motorway road safety.

Similar requests were sent to the RSA and TII for their internal records responding to the incident, but as is becoming increasingly common with FOI in Ireland, they are now several weeks overdue.

Despite my request for meeting minutes, only an agenda from this meeting was released by the Department of Transport, suggesting that no notes were taken or shared on what was actually discussed.

This has long been a problem with many FOI bodies, and there is no law stating that minutes must be taken for every meeting, except cabinet records, which are themselves time-barred for five years.

This can leave a significant transparency gap, particularly when the meetings in question involve government ministers meeting lobbyists representing various corporate interests.

Some meetings do still have minutes taken, but there doesn’t appear to be a procedure or reason behind why some are recorded and others are not.

Ireland’s FOI Act also does not require a public body to create a record that doesn’t already exist, so if no meeting notes exist, there is no requirement to create one in response to a FOI request.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transport told The Journal Investigates that all “relevant records were released” but did not answer questions on why meeting notes weren’t taken.

A screenshot of the agenda for the meeting between the Department of Transport, the RSA, TII and An Garda Síochána. The Journal Investigates The Journal Investigates

While we can’t see what was actually discussed, the agenda does at least provide an insight into what officials planned to discuss.

There was a focus on four key areas: enforcement from gardaí, educational initiatives from the RSA, engineering solutions from TII, and legislative changes from the Department.

Officials from the Department of Justice were also in attendance as work continues on drafting new legislation that will introduce harsher punishments for those convicted of driving the wrong way.

The public have their say on solutions

While we mightn’t have learned much from what was discussed at the meeting, the Department also released numerous emails sent to the Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien, from the public in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

O’Brien received more than 20 emails, with some fellow ministers, TDs and party colleagues also sending on similar messages they had received.

So what were these suggestions?

Most of the people who shared their ideas with the Department called for better detection of when cars drive the wrong way.

These ranged from increasing the number of cameras that feed back to the TII control centre, to using AI to detect when a car enters a slip road in the wrong direction.

Canney has already suggested using AI to automate the detection and alert process, and while similar technology already exists, it is typically used to monitor incidents in tunnels rather than cover large stretches of motorways.

Others focused on specialised training for An Garda Síochána, including a suggestion to create a separate motorway patrol division trained in pursuit driving.

Finally, several people suggested introducing barriers or a special type of one-way stinger on motorway slip roads. However, at an Oireachtas committee last month, TII Director of Network Management Pat Maher said this wasn’t a feasible solution given that sometimes emergency services must travel the wrong way.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said that they are in regular contact with TII, including “referring relevant correspondence to TII for consideration and direct reply”.

They added that “technical measures to deter wrong-way driving” are a matter for TII and that the Department has no involvement in “training and resources for An Garda Síochána”.

If you have a burning FOI question about how to get certain records or why your request was refused, you can get in touch with our team at investigates@thejournal.ie. The Journal Investigates team will be back with another instalment of The FOI Files next Tuesday.