'There's nothing more important than human life': Newry mother urges Executive to reform to prevent more tragedies on our roads
Monica Heaney's son Karl was killed in a crash on the A1 in 2018
A mother who lost her son in a road accident has called on the Executive to reform and fast forward proposals to upgrade the stretch of road where he died.
Monica Heaney's son Karl, 27, died after a collision with a car on the A1 between Loughbrickland and Hillsborough in 2018. A man and woman who caused his death were sentenced to 80 hours community service.
Soldier Donald Hughes (35) and Dublin woman, 33-year-old Shelagh McMahon, pleaded guilty to death by driving carelessly back in March 2021 following the accident on May 23, 2018.
Following Karl's death, Monica established The Road Ahead Support Group, which provides support to those affected by road accidents.
On Monday, Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd gave his commitment to progress the development of a number of Strategic Road Improvement (SRI) schemes.
The development of contract documents for the A1 Junctions Phase 2, A4 Enniskillen Bypass and A32 Cornamuck schemes will now be taken forward as a priority during 2022/23, in preparation for future procurement.
Monica welcomed the move, but says it should have happened long before now.
"The fact that they're saying it's a priority is important, because that's never really been said before. But, I do think it should have been a priority 10 years ago. Time will tell, will it be a priority and how long is it going to take?" says Monica.
"I understand both reasons why people get angry within the NI Executive, whether it be the Irish Language Act or the Northern Ireland Protocol. They're important to people, but there's nothing more important than human life.
"Those things shouldn't be able to being a whole government down. You should be able to work alongside one another and resolve those things.
"We want you to do a job, we've employed you to do that job, so just get on and do the job."