Gardaí are to carry out 132 'large-scale' Covid-19 checkpoints per day as the country moves to Level 3, but Commissioner Drew Harris has said new powers are not currently needed to police the new restrictions
Operation Fanacht will come into place from midnight, with 132 large-scale checkpoints per day on main routes around the country in addition to thousands of mobile checkpoints on secondary roads in towns and villages.Commissioner Harris warned that journeys will be difficult from midnight, traffic jams are inevitable and it would be "a foolish choice" of people to deliberately breach the public health regulations.
The Government is not giving gardaí any additional powers to enforce the new restrictions, so if people do not break other laws, then gardai can only engage, educate and encourage them to comply. "We find that people who make such poor choices also make poor choices elsewhere and are amenable to other policing powers," he said.
The Garda Commissioner has confirmed that gardaí do not have the power under the health regulations to break up house parties or large gatherings, and, as the law currently stands, they do not have the power to stop people travelling either if there are no breaches of the criminal law. She said gardaí would continue to use the approach of "engage, educate, encourage and enforce" in asking the public to comply.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Garda investigation after man attacked, abducted and driven across borderThree men and two women were arrested on Sunday evening in Co Tyrone.
Read more »
Garda body seeks clarity over compliance enforcementAssociation of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors questions why details of enforcement measures not included for restriction levels
Read more »
Government’s tourism recovery taskforce calls for extra Bank Holiday in Ireland | JOE.ieThe government’s tourism recovery taskforce has called for consideration to be given to introducing an additional Bank Holiday into the calendar in Ireland.
Read more »