President's reaction: Expressing herself "shocked and overwhelmed with grief" at the accident that took five schoolgirls' lives in Co Meath on Monday, President McAleese spoke out yesterday about the "dreadful frustration" among Irish people at the high rate of road deaths.
"One of the awful things is the realisation that we wake almost every Monday morning to hear of three, or four or five dead on our roads," she said.
"This story is replicated in households all over Ireland. Week in and week out there is a litany of deaths on the roads which arise in circumstances which are with a little thought and care completely avoidable. There is no need for the dreadful devastating grief that is visited upon families every week as a result of accidents. It is important to reflect on what is reasonably do-able to reduce that harvest of disaster and desolation that is the result of road accidents."
Referring to the incident on May 13th when she and her husband Martin escaped injury when their car was struck by a wheel that had come off an articulated lorry, Mrs McAleese remarked: "The little accident I had a few weeks ago would have been very avoidable if somebody had a tight wheelguard."
Asked if she had considered cutting short her trip in the US and Canada, where she is leading a trade mission, Mrs McAleese said her aide de camp would be attending the funerals.
She had called the principals of the schools and had called the parish priest in the parish which is burying three of the children this week. When she got back to Ireland she would be in contact with the families, she stated.