The actions of a driver who today walked out of an inquiry into a Roscommon train crash have been described as a publicity stunt by Iarnród Éireann.
They said that the incident should be judged against a background of a sustained campaign by the Irish Locomotive Drivers’ Association (ILDA).
Iarnród Éireann said today the driver in question had acknowledged in a written report dated December 23rd, that he "misjudged the braking of the train and dislodged the second gate". Following on from this, disciplinary procedures were instigated against the driver.
According to the company the driver was assessed and deemed competent subject to a mandatory medical examination. Preparations for a formal inquiry got under way in January and it met today to interview witnesses.
At the formal hearing into the crash the driver of the train, accompanied by Mr Brendan Ogle, executive secretary of ILDA, handed in a letter of protest and then left.
In a statement afterwards Mr Ogle claimed the inquiry had been prejudiced by erroneous and misleading statements by the Junior Minister at the Department of Public Enterprise Mr Jacob, and spokespersons for Iarnród Éireann.
This followed Mr Jacob’s speech in the Dáil last Tuesday when, according to Mr Ogle, Mr Jacob said the driver in question had been retrained and a formal inquiry set up.
Mr Ogle said the driver had not been retrained and that today was the first occasion on which the driver had been requested to assist the inquiry.
In a press release issued today by the Department of Public Enterprise, Mr Jacob was quoted in the Dáil last Tuesday as saying, "The Minister has directed the railway inspecting officers to undertake an inquiry into the causes of the incident." He added, "The Minister also proposes to introduce a new regulatory framework for railway safety."
The inquiry follows concern voiced over a second crash in the past eight weeks last Friday at the Kiltoom level crossing.
