A major road safety campaign specifically targeting drink driving is under way this May bank holiday weekend, with gardaí mounting increased checkpoints countrywide.
The bank holiday operation, dubbed Operation Lifesaver, follows statistics showing drink- driving arrests are 18 per cent higher than the same period in 2005.
A Garda spokesman said that "while the majority of drivers do not drink and drive, there is still a sizeable number of people who continue to take that chance".
Brian Farrell of the National Safety Council said 27 people had been killed and 514 injured on Irish roads over the course of the last five May bank holiday weekends. "In the context of the new ad campaign we launched this week, we would appeal to drivers to reassess their driving skills and apply the messages of the ads to their driving," he said.
Following yesterday's high temperatures which reached 16 degrees in some parts of the country, Deirdre Lowe, a weather forecaster with Met Éireann, said that summer temperatures should prevail until Sunday evening with high temperatures being replicated today and tomorrow. Sunny spells with light breezes will create temperatures in the "mid-teens" until Sunday evening when rain showers are expected along the west coast.
As the good weather continued yesterday and thousands of people started travelling countrywide, Alison Byrne, a spokeswoman for AA Roadwatch, said motorists should allow extra time for travelling this weekend. The N6 into Moate, the N11 through Gorey, the N4 at Edgeworthstown, the N3 through Dunshaughlin and Navan, the N25 into New Ross and the N8 at Abbeyleix, Durrow, Fermoy and Mitchelstown are likely to suffer from traffic congestion.
Delays should also be expected on the N7 and N81 due to racing at Punchestown which concludes this evening. Other race meetings in Navan, the Curragh and Limerick may also create congestion.
In terms of air traffic, Dublin Airport Authority expects more than 2,000 flights to arrive and depart, with some 310,000 passengers travelling through the airport over the weekend. Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann anticipate that over 200,000 and 180,000 people respectively to travel on their services over the coming days.
Members of the public who are expected to visit Ireland's waterways have also being asked to "up skill" on the hazards they face in order to prevent drownings.