Roads gardai should not be exposed to ‘excessive danger’, says minister

There is a need to ensure that road-policing gardai are not exposed to “excessive levels of danger”, the Justice Minister has said following the death of an officer in the unit.

Kevin Flatley died after being hit by a motorcycle as he was recording vehicles’ speeds on the R132 at Lanestown on Sunday afternoon.

The 49-year-old had served as a garda for 26 years and had been with the Roads Policing Unit since 2018.

The married father-of-two was the 90th officer to die on duty since the creation of the force in 1922.

President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Simon Harris and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris extended their sympathies and spoke of the shock at his death.

On Monday, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan expressed his sympathies to Mr Flatley’s family and colleagues in An Garda Siochana.

He said: “When Garda Flatley went out to work yesterday morning, he went out in the same way as every guard goes out to work, which is to keep the community safe – and he was doing that in his role within the Roads Policing Unit.

“It was a terrible tragedy that he lost his life in the line of duty, but it emphasises, I suppose, the sacrifices and the danger associated with policing in Ireland.

“Sometimes we take it for granted. We think that it’s a job which is the same as other jobs – it’s not.

“Every day members of An Garda Siochana put themselves personally in danger by carrying out their duty on behalf of the people of Ireland and it is a tragedy that Garda Flatley paid the ultimate price yesterday whilst performing his duty.”

Gardai have appealed to anyone who saw the Yamaha R motorcycle involved in the crash from 12pm on Sunday onwards to contact investigators and aid their inquiries.

An appeal for witnesses and those with relevant dashcam or video footage has also been made.

Mr O’Callaghan said he would encourage anyone with camera footage to bring it to the attention of the active investigation into Mr Flatley’s death.

Commissioner Harris pointed out that a different garda “unbelievably” had his leg broken after being struck by a motorcycle on the same day, while another also suffered a broken leg after being hit by a vehicle in a separate incident a week earlier.

Asked about a review into roads policing, Mr O’Callaghan said members of the public need to look at their own behaviour “in the first instance as opposed to” asking what gardai can do differently.

“We need to slow down. There is too much speed on our roads. There are too many lives being lost on our roads.

“And although An Garda Siochana are out there to enforce the law and to make the roads as safe as possible, primary responsibility rests on all of us to ensure that we’re not driving excessively fast – that’s something that’s within all our control.”

Asked about the dangers of roads policing raised by the Commissioner, Mr O’Callaghan said he will implement “whatever new measures are required in order to ensure that gardai are kept as safe as possible during their roads policing”.

He told RTE’s Morning Ireland: “Obviously, it’s an area that’s also hugely dependent upon technology – we need to use technology as much as possible.

“A recently approved new contract for the use of more road traffic cameras, that’s an area that can be as effective.

“But no matter what technologies we introduce, we’re never going to get away from the fact that we want and we will need to have members of An Garda Siochana actively on the ground, policing the law and protecting the community.

“That’s what Garda Flatley was doing yesterday. Tragically, he lost his life whilst doing it but his public service is commendable, and it’s something that we should all sort of honor and reflect upon.”

Asked what shape a review of roads policing should take in the wake of Garda Flatley’s death, the minister said: “We need to reflect upon: Are gardai being exposed to excessive danger?”

Earlier, the vice president of the Garda Representative Association told the same programme that it represented a “dreadful” day for the organisation.

Niall Hodgins said Mr Flatley is remembered as a “friend, colleague and teammate” who wore his uniform with “dignity, courage and pride”.

“His colleagues have told me his presence enriched all the stations that he has served in – which I think included Roscommon, Blanchardstown and Pearse Street garda stations – prior to him joining the Roads Policing Unit, and his kindness, I understand, touched everybody that knew him,” he said.

Mr Hodgkins described An Garda Siochana as a “big family” of current, past and retired members, and added: “I have been inundated with calls about Kevin’s integrity, his values that he held dear, his dignity, his courage, his pride, and about Kevin’s character himself.”

He said the incident reminds people of the dangers of being a member of An Garda Siochana.

Mr Flatley was also a member of the O’Dwyers GAA club in Balbriggan, where his daughters play.

Club chairman Dave Rooney passed his condolences on to Mr Flatley’s family and said: “It’s a terrible day for our club and the wider community of Balbriggan.”

He said: “Kevin was very active in the community and very active in the club.

He added: “He was always positive around the club, a positive influence and always smiling. He had a fantastic way about him within the club, and he was always willing to lend a hand and kind of helped where he could.

“You know, he obviously had significant commitments with the guards and his family, but when he had downtime, he was always there to give a dig out whenever he could.”

Mr Rooney said Mr Flatley was “very patient and very caring” when he worked as a coach with the club.