Garda reports fee scrapped after calls at Clonmany crash inquest
‘These fees are unjust and insensitive’
BEREAVED families of road crash victims will no longer have to pay for accident reports from the start of next year, gardaí have announced.
The issue of the cost of the book of evidence arose at the inquest into the death of eight men who died in the single worst car crash at Clonmany in July 2010.
At the inquest, which took place in March this year, families of the bereaved called on Gardaí to provide them with a copy of the extensive book of evidence in the case against Shaun Kelly, who was jailed after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and causing the death of the eight men.
Gardaí revealed at the inquest that copies could be released but at a cost.
It is understood that families could have faced costs into the thousands of euro if they requested costs of the 250 statements and reports contained in the Book of Evidence which were served on Mr. Kelly in February 2012.
At present bereaved families who required documents from the Book were charged €60 for a copy of the abstract of the Garda report, and €40 for each copy of a witness statement.
However following a review carried out after representations to Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan, all fees will be scrapped from January 1st in cases where there has been a fatality.
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