Irish police to receive pursuit training as five boys killed in motorway crash named locally

Gardaí to receive pursuit training following M9 collision that killed five teenage boys.

The Garda Representative Association claim no one in An Garda Síochána had received such pursuit training.

Mr O'Callaghan said that legislation is being prepared to strengthen garda protections "when it comes to pursuit".

But he said the introduction of "a separate offence" must be considered for those who "make a deliberate decision to drive their vehicles the wrong way down a motorway".

"That is using a vehicle as a weapon and it is a lethal form of behaviour."

There is no evidence that harsher sentences or standalone offences deter or reduce road crime.

Meanwhile post-mortem examinations will be carried out today on the bodies of Joey Carthy (15) and Jack Kennedy (17) from Athy, Co Kildare; Alex McCarthy (17) and his cousin Jeremy O’Brien (18) from Carlow; and Kamil Pustkowski (17) from Limerick.

They were not being pursued by the Gardai at the time of the accident, however Gardai had been following the car for a period earlier in the evening.

The BMW believed to have been stolen from Carlow Town crashed into a Hyundai heading for Dublin airport.

They were all wearing forms of balaclava or masks when discovered.

Three women and a seven-year-old boy in the Hyundai have been hospitalised with injuries ranging from serious to critical following the crash.

The women and child were on their way to the airport for a family wedding in the UK at the time of the crash which occurred shortly after 3am near Moone, Co Kildare, on the northbound lane.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was "shocked and saddened" at the road crash, the result of "an irresponsible and dangerous act".

Mr Martin said such incidents are, in some cases, "being done for likes on social media".

"This is the second appalling crash we've seen on our roads in a matter of days as a result of the reckless driving of a car on the wrong side of the motorway, endangering the lives of innocent road users."

It has been noted that many videos of youths stealing cars are still available on TikTok and Snapchat.

People Before Profit councillor Hazel De Nortúin has called for fines or consequence for the tech giants.

"Why has social media continuously allowed children to share these acts of crime online?" she said. Furthering the uptake of this reckless behaviour, and further exposing themselves to a lifestyle that seems to have no value on life. Theirs and wider society."

Justice Minister O'Callaghan also criticised social media companies who he said have responsibilities in this regard.

Those firms, he said, have committed not to allow "any postings that glorify criminal behaviour".

"Regrettably, that hasn't been happening.

"Social media companies need to step up to the mark," he added.