FF TD apologises after being caught speeding

Fianna Fáil TD Billy Kelleher has apologised publicly after it emerged he was caught speeding in Co Tipperary last month.

The Cork North Central deputy received two penalty points for exceeding the 100 km/h speed limit on the Cashel bypass on January 24th. He was on his way to Dáil and was caught at 20 km/h over the limit.

Billy Kelleher

It is the second time in 15 years that he has been caught speeding.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio this morning, Mr Kelleher said he was wrong to have broken the limit and wished to apologise.

"Everybody has a need to obey the rules of the road and particularly speeding with the extent of the carnage we have on our roads," he said. "As a public representative, I should be very conscious of that and I just apologise."

He acknowledged that there was a need for public representatives to set an example in the light of the continuing carnage on the roads. A total of 41 people died in January, the worst death toll in nearly a decade.

"I'm a law maker and I have spoken in the Dáil on the need to address the carnage on our roads," the TD said. "As a public representative, I've attended funerals of people I know and constituents ... who've been destroyed by accidents on the roads and have lost loved ones."