Large increase in number of Covid-19 travel fines issued by gardaí

Gardaí issued more than 300 fines to motorists found in breach of the Covid-19 travel restrictions over the weekend, as part of a crackdown on people engaging in non-essential travel.

Although the final figures are still being collated, it is understood fines worth well in excess of €30,000 were issued in various parts of the country while hundreds more drivers received a caution and were told to return to their homes.

In Co Wicklow, members of the Roads Policing Unit issued 170 fixed charge penalty notices (FCPNs) to people who had travelled up the mountains. About 100 of these were issued on Saturday and the remainder on Sunday.

Another 200 drivers avoided a fine but were instructed to return to their homes on Sunday.

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Several checkpoints were established throughout the Wicklow Mountains area in anticipation of large numbers of people travelling there. to enjoy the scenery and go for walks. Some parked cars blocked roads, meaning emergency vehicles could not get by, leading gardaí to tow some of them away.

Gardaí were surprised so many people travelled to the area over the weekend, given the publicity over people receiving fines for similar activity a week before.

“There is a lesson not being learned here. The message isn’t getting through,” said one garda.

In Ballymahon in Co Longford, gardaí set up a checkpoint at Newcastle Woods to ensure compliance with Covid-19 regulations. Officers issued fines to 30 parked vehicles which were found outside the 5km limit.

Another 70 vehicles were turned back after their drivers were cautioned by members of the Roscommon/Longford Roads Policing Unit.

Significant numbers of fines were also issued in the Laois/Offaly area, in Donegal and in the Strandhill area of Sligo.

Under regulations introduced on January 11th, gardaí can issue fines of €100 each to anyone engaged in a non-essential journey, including those exercising more than 5km from their homes.

Using the newly issued Garda Mobility App on their smartphones, gardaí can instantly check motorists’ addresses using their car registration numbers, making it more difficult for people to lie about their address. Every adult in a car found breaching the travel limits can be fined, not just the driver.

Since their introduction a week ago, 400 fines have been issued, with over 75 per cent of those issued over the last weekend.

Bogus excuses

"In advance of the weekend, An Garda Síochána had advised the public of the need to plan their activities over the weekend to take account that people are only allowed to exercise within 5km of their home. The vast majority of people were compliant with this over the weekend," the Garda said in a statement.

“An Garda Síochána would like to remind people that the 5km limit includes the distance travelled to a location to exercise. In other words, you can’t travel more than 5km to a location to exercise.”

Unlike in most areas road traffic enforcement, gardaí have a significant amount of discretion in deciding whether to issue a fine under the Covid-19 regulations.

In an internal memo, members were instructed to use the “four Es” approach: “Engage, Explain, Encourage and Enforce. Remember that enforcement should only be used when necessary and proportionate.”

Sources said the dramatic increase in fines issued over the weekend was not a result of pressure from management, but rather the result of more people on the roads and gardaí becoming familiar with the regulations.

“They know all the excuses by now and they know which ones are genuine and which ones are probably bogus,” one garda said.

Although the ban on non-essential travel has been in place since November, until last week gardaí had no effective way of enforcing it, aside from issuing advice to motorists.

This had been a source of frustration to many gardaí. “We’ve been out here for months listening to excuses and sometimes being laughed at by people because they know we can’t do anything. So it’s good to finally have something to back up these laws.”