Nearly 1,000 fines issued in Limerick for breaches of Covid regulations

THE number of fines issued for breaches of Covid-19 regulations in Limerick continues to rise and is approaching 1,000 gardai have confirmed.

According to data, published this Friday evening, members of An Garda Siochána in the Limerick division, have issued a total of 993 Fixed Charge Notices - up from 827 last week.

The figure is the third highest for any division in the country.

At a meeting of the Limerick Joint Policing Committee earlier this Friday, Chief Superintendent Gerard Roche added that a further 52 alleged breaches of the public health regulations in Limerick are under investigation.

These, he said, relate to "more serious" breaches which require the preparation of a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The Fixed Charged Penalty regime was introduced late last year and as of Thursday evening, a total of 11,607 fines had been issued and processed nationwide.

9,021 for leaving home without a reasonable excuse

404 for organising an unauthorised event/gathering (including house parties)

1,416 for attending unauthorised event/gathering (including house parties)

218 for the non-wearing of face coverings in designated premises

445 for non-essential travel to airports or ports

A further 103 fines have been issued to individuals who are not ordinarily resident in the country.

According to An Garda Síochána almost half of all fines, issued to date, related to breaches which were detected at weekends (22% on Saturdays and 23% on Sundays) with 75% of all fines being issued to men.

Gardai say they will be continuing to mount checkpoints and high visibility patrols across Limerick at public amenities, parks and beauty spots across this weekend  and they are appealing to people to stay within their 5km - despite the expected good weather.

Speaking ahead of the weekend, Deputy Commissioner Anne Marie McMahon said: "The vast majority of people are compiling with the public health regulations. In doing so, they have made major sacrifices. This effort has saved many lives. We thank them for that. To continue to save lives and eventually return to some level of normality we need to further reduce the numbers of people getting Covid-19. Everyone has a role to play in this. Everyone has a responsibility to themselves, those they love, and those they come into contact with to adhere to the public health advice. The best way of keeping safe this weekend is to stay home."

A number of Covid-related prosecutions are expected to come before the courts in Limerick over the coming weeks.