Justice Minister, Jim O'Callaghan has said that people driving the wrong way down a motorway will "end up in jail" or "end up in a grave".
The minister made these comments at Government Buildings, where he also confirmed that Gardaí are to receive pursuit training, following the recent tragic crash on the M9, which led to the deaths of five teenagers.
The teenage boys were driving southbound on the northbound carriage of the motorway when it collided with a second car. This incident happened near the Moone exit at around 3am on Sunday morning last. More on this from Nova here.
Today, Minister O'Callaghan stated that the Garda Commissioner has committed to beginning this training this year, but has not specified about how many Gardaí will be trained. He added that legislation is being prepared in order to strengthen Garda protections "when it comes to pursuit", according to reports in RTÉ.
He revealed that Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien is also considering introducing a "separate offence" to target those who "make a deliberate decision to drive their vehicles the wrong way down a motorway".
"That is using a vehicle as a weapon and it is a lethal form of behaviour".
The minister also called out those who caused the M9 crash for their "outrageously dangerous criminal behaviour".
Elsewhere, Mr O'Callaghan also called out social media companies, claiming that they have a responsibility to tackle such unlawful behaviour.
He stated that these firms have made a commitment not to allow "any postings that glorify criminal behaviour", but that has "regrettably that hasn't been happening".
"Social media companies need to step up to the mark".
Referring to this incident and one a few weeks earlier which saw a car carrying eight teenage boys driving the wrong way down an off ramp near Junction 12 at Firhouse, Mr O'Callaghan said "it is unquestionably a trend".
He pointed out that there is a new craze of "young men stealing cars, driving dangerously on the roads and videoing it for the purposes of social media".
"This is an issue that is not unique to Ireland", he insisted, adding that he was not trying to "deflect attention".
When asked "where are the parents in all of this?", the minister added: "That's a very good question, where are the parents?"
"Obviously it is a difficult time for the five families who have deceased persons there at present," he said. "But that's an issue that will have to be looked at in due course". (All quotes according to RTÉ).
