Gardai have been forced to issue yet another warning to the public after scores of Covid-19 rulebreakers were caught breaching the 5km travel limit in the Wicklow mountains.
Officers have been kept busy by brazen hillwalkers attempting to sneak out for a hike that puts them in contravention of current Level Five restrictions.
In a post on Facebook, Wicklow Gardai said 10 people have already been issued with fixed charge penalty notices, while "lots of others have been turned around."
"Gardai checkpoints in the Wicklow uplands are encountering quite a number of people travelling very deliberately outside their 5km intending to walk in the hills or cycle," the strongly worded post said.
It comes as people around Ireland continue to grapple with the most biting set of lockdown measures we've seen since last spring.
Today, the HSE's chief clinical officer warned that Covid-19 restrictions could be in place for another year as the vaccine is rolled out.
Dr Colm Henry told Raidió na Gaeltachta that there could be another year of measures such as social distancing ahead before enough people had received the vaccine to protect the public from Covid-19.
He added: "In the meantime, it’s more important than ever to abide by the public health guidance so that we can stop the spread of the virus."
Dr Henry also addressed criticism of the "slow" rollout of the vaccine, saying that the health service was administering all the doses as soon as they receive them.
Data released today shows Ireland now has the highest daily vaccination levels across the EU.
We’ve placed first in the European Union rankings for the number of daily Covid-19 doses administered per 100,000 of the population.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly thanked the vaccinations teams who have helped to get Ireland to the top spot.
He tweeted: “Thanks to our brilliant vaccination teams, for now we have the highest daily vaccination levels in the EU27."
