10 Covid 19 fines have been issued in Donegal since restrictions were eased a week ago last Monday, down from 46 over the previous period.
Nationally to date, 20,566 fines have been issued by gardai across the range of all COVID-19 breaches.
Of the fines issued across the country by gardai since the start of the pandemic, 14,730 €100 fines were issued for non-essential travel, 745 for organising a house party, 2,918 for attending a house party, and 378 for not wearing a face covering.
In the North Western region, 4,726 fines have been handed out over the course of the pandemic, 827 of them in the Donegal Division. Over the past 10 days, the total number of fines issued in the county is ten.
| An Garda Síochána – Covid-19 Regulations Are Still in Place, Act Responsibly and Stay Safe 23rd April, 2021. |
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• Over 3,600 fines issued to date to people attending or organising house parties
• With good weather forecast this weekend, An Garda Síochána is asking everyone to continue acting responsibly and stay safe • Gardaí continuing high visibility patrols at public amenities, parks and beauty spots across the country this weekend • Illegal parking at such locations is a health and safety hazard. It can result in cars being towed and impounded. To date, An Garda Síochána has issued approximately 20,566 Covid-19 fines across the range of all COVID-19 breaches. As of close of business yesterday (April 22, 2021) the following number of fines had been recorded:
• 14,730 €100 fines for non-essential travel
• 1,253 €500 fines for non-essential journeys to airports/ports – the total number of €100 and €500 fines for non-essential journeys to airports/ports is 1,628 • 745 €500 fines for organising a house party and 2,918 €150 fines for attending a house party • 378 fines of €80 each for not wearing a face covering • 405 fines of €100 for non-essential travel by persons not ordinarily resident in the State All figures provided are operational and subject to change due to administrative functions in the processing of fines such as terminations or recording practices. Please note that due to the requirement to make technical changes to the Garda system following the recent introduction of new regulations the figures released today are not a full week of figures and so are not comparable to previous weekly figures. Processing of fines has now fully resumed and we will provide updated figures next week. An Garda Síochána continues to find groups gathering (house parties, social gatherings, exercise etc.) in breach of regulations. These are not just breaches of regulations, but are a risk to the individuals involved, their families and loved ones, and continue to put everybody’s health and the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic at risk.
An Garda Síochána will be continuing nationwide checkpoints and high visibility patrols at public amenities, parks and beauty spots across the country this weekend in support of public health regulations.
An Garda Síochána is again advising the public of the need to plan their activities over the weekend to take account of the new limitations on non-essential travel i.e. travel within your county or 20km from your home if crossing county boundaries.
The public should also be aware that if a driver is found to be in breach of the non-essential travel regulations that not only can the driver be fined, but their adult passengers as well. This is also the case for adults in groups undertaking activities such as cycling or walking – every adult in such a group can be fined.
When visiting amenities within the travel limit please park legally. Illegal parking can hinder access by emergency services and could put lives at risk. As we saw during previous weekends, people who illegally park are at risk of having their cars towed and impounded.
In enforcing these regulations, Gardaí have been using the 4Es approach – engaging, explaining, and encouraging with enforcement a last resort.
An Garda Síochána continues to remind persons subject to domestic violence – Travel restrictions DO NOT APPLY in the case of domestic violence or to escape a risk of harm, whether to the person or to another person.
An Garda Síochána continues to appeal to any person who may have been the victim of an incident of sexual or domestic crime irrespective of whether you may have been on breach of any public health regulations, for instance by attending a house party, An Garda Síochána is here to assist and support you, please report all such incidents.
Speaking today, Deputy Commissioner, Policing and Security, Anne Marie McMahon said, “The vast majority of people are continuing to comply with the public health regulations. This is making a positive difference in tackling the spread of COVID-19.
“However, we still need to be vigilant and continue to do the right things. “With good weather forecast this weekend we would ask people to continue to enjoy the outdoors responsibly. Please limit your social contacts. Please do not meet in large groups. Please do not attend parties or gatherings held inside or outside.” Further data on COVID-19 fines including age, gender, and divisional breakdown is available on www.Garda.ie. The total number of fines recorded as of close of business yesterday (April 22 2021) is made up of 20,520 fines that have been processed and approximately 46 that are currently being checked and processed.
The number of fines issued per Division will vary depending on a number of factors including population size, the geographic area covered, local economy, travel patterns, and the public amenities in a particular Division.
A person who receives a fine can request an appeal. A COVID-19 FPN Cancellation Request Form and guidance notes are available on our website at www.garda.ie.
People issued with a COVID-19 related fine have 28 days to pay the fine.
Anyone who fails to pay their fine within 28 days will receive a Court date shortly after. It is a matter for the Court, but failure to pay the FPN can result in conviction for a first offence in the District Court in a fine of €1,000 and/or imprisonment. Courts are also open to reporting by local and national media.
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