THE EUROPEAN Commission will this week begin hearing evidence from the families of two young women who died in road incidents here in 2001 and 2005.
The commission’s investigation team is to take evidence from the Gallagher family from Co Mayo and the Farren family from Co Donegal on Wednesday.
The two families travel to Brussels tomorrow.
The move by the commission follows a request in June from the EU’s Committee on Petitions that it begin an investigation into the maintenance of non-national roads here by local authorities.
The families’ evidence marks a milestone in their long campaign to have the deaths of their daughters fully investigated,
Sinead McDaid (22), of Cardonagh, Co Donegal, died after her vehicle went out of control on a straight stretch of road near Culdaff village in June 2001. Donegal County Council was carrying out resurfacing works on the stretch at the time. Her car hit loose chippings, skidded down an embankment and landed on its roof in a field. Sinead died in an ambulance en route to hospital.
Aisling Gallagher (22) died when she lost control of her car on a stretch of road at Mulranney, Co Mayo in December 2005.
The road, where Mayo County Council was carrying out resurfacing works, was coated with a temporary road surface, deep bitumen macadam (DBM), which is notoriously slippery without a chipped gripping surface on top.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/1c85c391-d9f0-4634-bc3d-1b2d88af90bd.png)