Gardaí have warned that their anti-drink-driving surveillance patrols will be fully staffed and extended this week.
"It may be Christmas Day for the public but it's like any other day on duty for us," said a Garda spokesperson in the Dublin traffic department.
Extra checkpoints to detect drink-drivers are being set up "every hour, every day" by gardaí in marked and unmarked vehicles at random locations around the country.
A spokesman for the Department of Transport said it was hoped that a combination of the anti-drink-driving campaign and the new penalty points system would have a "fairly significant impact on driver culture out there".
In the first two weeks of the campaign, more than 500 drivers were arrested for drink-driving. This compares with over 700 arrests for the same period last year.
Gardaí have cautioned against complacency, saying drink-driving, speeding and other road traffic offences were being scrutinised at "different checkpoint locations every night" as part of their intensive campaign, which runs until January 5th.
Fianna Fáil TD Mr John Curran told The Irish Times, however, that the Garda campaign this year "seems to be very obvious".
"There are several Garda checkpoints every night and 30 arrests are made per day, with half of these in the Dublin area," he said.
Mr Curran applauded a scheme initiated by some, mainly rural, publicans whereby designated drivers are given free non-alcoholic drinks. He called for Dublin publicans to follow suit.
"Too often publicans get knocked and I think this is very responsible and very pro-active of them, particularly at this time of year," he added.
He said that with the increased numbers of taxis, people had less excuse for driving home after a night out.
The National Safety Council is urging people to "act responsibly and choose travel arrangements before leaving home" over the Christmas period.
"It's up to us to take individual responsibility to ensure we have a safe way home," said a spokesman. He advised people not to get into cars with drink-drivers and to discourage others from doing so.
The NSC's award-winning ad, entitled "Shame" - featuring a young man whose car crashes into a garden, killing a little boy - has achieved 85 per cent awareness among 17-24-year-old male drivers.
A total of 6,700 motorists have been arrested for either drink-driving, speeding or a combination of both since the launch of the Garda campaign on November 28th.