Labour makes complaint to Judicial Council regarding comments about cyclists
Labour makes complaint to Judicial Council regarding comments about cyclists - The Labour Party
- Most cyclists killed on our roads in 2025 since 2017
Labour’s transport spokesperson Ciarán Ahern TD has submitted a formal complaint to the Judicial Council following remarks about cyclists made by Judge James O’Donohoe.
Deputy Ahern said:
“The commentary by Judge James O’Donohoe is deeply problematic, and has exhibited a clear perception of bias against cyclists in his decision-making. These comments were beyond what was necessary to determine the matter before the court, and what’s more, they have opened the floodgates around negative, uninformed remarks about cyclists.
“I was appalled to see the Deputy Vice President of the Road Hauliers Association jump at the opportunity to punch down on cyclists and vulnerable road users; this demonstrates the influence of the judiciary in our society and the importance that is attached to all judicial utterances.
““Cyclists have become a nightmare in Dublin” is an untrue, unfair and frankly ignorant statement. The reality is actually much the opposite – being a cyclist is often a nightmare with a lack of safe, segregated cycle lanes, dangerous junctions, poor lighting, poor maintenance of existing bike lanes and record levels of bike theft among some of the many issues cyclists face in Dublin and across the country.
“14 cyclists were killed on our roads in 2025 – the highest number of cyclists lives lost since 2017. Indeed, 2025 was a devastating year on our roads, seeing 190 people lose their lives. Every road death is a tragedy for the families and communities impacted.
“Rather than pitting road users against each other as Judge O’Donohoe has sought to do, we should be encouraging all road users to take greater care of their own road use, and to protect others.
“The decision delivered on Monday in the Circuit Civil Court included remarks made by Judge O’Donohue that generalised negatively about cyclists as a reckless category of road users, rather than confining his analysis strictly to the facts and evidence of the individual case.
“It appears that Judge O’Donohoe may be unable to make an unbiased decision in relation to a category of road users to which he has expressed such distain. I have formally submitted a complaint to the Judicial Council on this matter, and have asked that considerations be given to encourage Judge O’Donohoe to engage with the families of the 45 cyclist fatalities on our roads over the last 5 years to understand properly the many and serious risks associated with cycling in Ireland.”