The judge in the trial of Niall Shannon, who is accused of dangerous driving causing deaths of a garda and a fireman, has been charging the jury.
Mr Shannon, of Ballylongford Co Kerry, denies causing the deaths of Garda Brian Kelleher, and fireman Michael Liston, during a road traffic accident outside Foynes in February 2007.
The trial before a jury of seven women and five men is now in its eight day.
Council for the Prosecution John O'Kelly told the jury while cases of dangerous driving causing death are invariably sad cases, they must not allow emotion to influence them.
He said however that when considering the charges of dangerous driving, elements like speed and drink are strikingly present in this case.
He said an indication of the speed of the accused man was what happened to the two men who had died, Michael Liston had been thrown in the air ending up on a ditch, and Garda Kelleher had been propelled 30m down the road.
He said it was also a reasonable inference to draw that the accused man was driving at considerable speed when the injuries of the men were considered.
Both had head injuries, broken limbs and severe internal injuries.
He said that while it will never be known why Niall Shannon did not stop and slow down, it is known that he had excess alcohol in his system that could affect his reaction and judgement.
Anthony Salmon, acting for the accused man, was highly critical of both the fire service and the garda investigation of this case and said 'Official Ireland' bears the major responsibility in relation to the deaths of the two men.
He said the road where the accident happened should have been closed 'full stop' and what was done at the scene was utterly shambolic and a danger to anybody travelling on that road.
He said it was nonsense that official Ireland seems to think it was good enough to have a retained fire service and the gardaí deal with an emergency situation at an acute bend when the road was not closed.
He said men were exposed to danger at the scene, Michael Liston and Brian Kelleher were not protected and his client Niall Shannon was not protected.
He said it was a farcical situation that the road was not totally closed to protect everybody and these two good men would be alive today and their families would not be suffering.
He also questioned how a garda investigating the scene could remain objective when one of those killed was also a garda.
He said the consequences for his client of a conviction were horrendous and he was entitled to a fair deal and that the investigation should have been conducted by the National Roads Authority.
He also said the jury do not know what happened at the scene after this appalling tragedy, and suggested there were efforts to 'tart it up' to make it look like it was well lit up.
