Party leaders express their sympathies over bus crash

Party leaders yesterday expressed their sympathy in the Dáil to the families and friends of the five teenage girls killed in the bus crash in Co Meath on Monday.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said that "a terrible and sudden tragedy" has been visited upon the families of the five young women.

"It is a tragedy shared by their schoolmates who were on that last fateful bus journey with them last evening. The whole local community and the whole country send their prayers and their heartfelt sympathies to the five families of these fine young girls."

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said: "To lose a child must be the most unbearable thing in any parent's life, and I'm sure last night there wasn't a house in Ireland where parents didn't look at their own children and think 'What if, and thank God it wasn't'.

"And for that reason alone, the heart of every parent here and in the country goes out to those parents in Co Meath."

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the deaths were a terrible tragedy to visit one small area of the country.

The cause of the accident would be thoroughly investigated, "but we don't know at this stage whether any particular safety precautions would have avoided this terrible accident".

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said to anyone involved it was a horrific crash, and the whole area had been left "in a state of numb shock and grieving heartbreak".

Sinn Féin's leader in the Dáil, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, said the tragedy raised many questions, but for now TDs could do no more than express their sympathy. He paid tribute to the emergency services for their fast and efficient response.

Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party said everyone was profoundly shocked that "five young lives are snuffed out".

After "a proper period of mourning there must be a serious debate on the safety of transport for schoolgoing children and youth".