Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
A ROAD SAFETY group had expressed concern at new figures which show the number of fixed charge notices issued to motorists for road traffic offences has decreased by 14% over the past three years at a time of rising road fatalities.
New figures published by the Department of Justice show almost 48,000 fewer fines were issued by gardaí last year compared to 2020 when a total of 331,410 motoring offences were detected.
The overall downward trend has been criticised by road safety campaign group, PARC, who noted the peak level of detections occurred at a time when traffic levels were greatly reduced due to travel restrictions imposed to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
PARC chairperson, Susan Gray pointed out that the annual number of road deaths had risen over the same period from 145 in 2020 to 184 last year – a 27% increase.
So far this year, 126 people have died on Irish roads – one more than over the corresponding period in 2023.
The figures on motoring fines also reveal wide variations between different Garda divisions in the number of motorists caught for road traffic offences in recent years.
Detection rates have decreased across 17 of the 22 divisions nationwide since 2020 with the reductions most pronounced in Wexford/Wicklow where the number of fines issued has fallen by 41% over the period.
Other divisions where the detection of offences has declined significantly include Dublin East (-39%); Cork North (-39%); Dublin West (-29%) and Mayo/Roscommon/Longford (-29%).
The number of fines for motoring offences issued by garda in the Clare/Tipperary division has risen by 51% in the past three years, although the increase is understood to be largely due to the introduction of average speed cameras on a section of the M7 motorway in Tipperary in 2022.
The total number of 30,484 offences recorded in Clare/Tipperary was more than in any other Garda division last year.
The only other divisions where the number of motoring fines increased last year were Kerry, Dublin South Central, Sligo/Leitrim and Cork City.
The figures, which were provided in response to a parliamentary question from Aontú leader, Peadar Tóibín, relate to offences detected by both gardaí on mobile patrols and speed cameras.
Last year’s total of 283,516 fines being issued for road traffic offences was the lowest annual figure for a decade.
Over 34,000 motorists were caught using a mobile phone when driving in 2014 but the figure had fallen to just over 19,100 last year and is down 22% since 2020.
The number of drivers fined for speeding in 2023 was 154,534 – down 15% since 2020.
The figures show that the number of individuals fined for not wearing a seat-belt reached their lowest level for a decade last year at 5,477 – down 38% since 2020.
However, the number of learner drivers caught driving unaccompanied peaked last year at 14,729 – up 20% over the same period.
Advertisement
Figures for more serious road traffic offences not dealt with by fines revealed the number of motorists caught for driving while intoxicated decreased by 13% since 2020 to 6,754 last year
According to An Garda Síochána, any variation in trends can be due to many factors including overall traffic volumes, road user compliance levels and the number of garda in Roads Policing Units.
Other factors include enforcement levels, weather conditions and particular Garda operations.
However, Gray said the trend identified by the latest figures suggested the decrease in the number of fines was linked to the increase in road fatalities over the same period.
“Enforcement really is the key thing in improving road safety but we had figures published recently which showed numbers in Roads Policing Units are at their lowest level in years,” said Gray.
The latest available figures show the total number of gardaí in such units fell to 620 in May – the lowest level since 2009.
Gray said 75 additional gardaí had been promised for Roads Policing Units this year but there was no sign yet of any being appointed.
“The Taoiseach, Simon Harris, claims road safety is a priority for his government but we still have to see hard evidence of that as the lack of urgency in boosting the numbers attached to Roads Policing Units is alarming,” she added.
Preliminary figures for this year show 150,499 fixed charge notices were issued to motorists up to 15 July 2024 – which would indicate a similar overall number to last year.
However, they reveal a sharp increase in the number of motorists caught for using bus lanes and parking on clearways and in disabled parking bays
Other offences where there have been significant increases in the issuing of fines include unaccompanied learners driving, breaking traffic lights, parking too close to corners and not having tax or insurance.
The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee said road safety was a shared responsibility which the Government takes very seriously.
“We have all been shocked by the recent loss of life on our roads and concerned by the recent worrying increase in road fatalities after many years of progress in making our roads safer,” said McEntee.
The Minister said road traffic legislation was enforced as part of the day-to-day duties of gardaí as well as through a programme of high visibility road safety and enforcement operations in order to make roads safer for all.
She pointed out that all frontline gardaí and not just those attached to Roads Policing Units played a role in enforcing road traffic legislation and that all gardai have been required to carry out 30 minutes of high visibility roads policing per shift since April.
“The aim of this activity is to increase Garda visibility which has the effect of moderating driver and road user behaviour,” said McEntee.
She noted there was a 27% increase in breaths tests over an eight-week period as well as a 69% increase in drug tests since the change compared to a similar timeframe just before the direction to gardaí to increase roads policing enforcement levels.
McEntee said there had also been a 29% increase in fixed charge notices for using a mobile phone while driving and a similar 5% increase for speeding.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
29 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Hold on Caroline O’Mahony isn’t allowed to promote her own business on her own page? What? I mean I’m all for labelling ads on social media by individuals but surely if the individual is promoting their own business that’s named after them, it’s really obvious? Does that mean that someone couldn’t promote their own podcast or book for example on their own page without the hashtag?
@Luas Vuitton – Penneys Drag Queen: The bare minimum should be to label paid sponsor spots as being *paid*.
That a lot of them have zero morals beyond how much they can milk off the audience, saddens me.
US stock index suffers biggest one-day fall since 2020 as Trump insists 'markets are going to boom'
2 hrs ago
6.4k
32
Alexei Navalny
Russian security service carry out 'revenge' raid on house of Alexei Navalny ally's father
1 hr ago
2.7k
Live Blog
US stocks drop sharply as EU considers response to Trump tariffs
6 hrs ago
46.8k
68
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 161 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 110 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 143 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 113 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 134 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 74 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 46 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 92 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 99 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 72 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 53 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 88 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say