With Covid travel restrictions in place, the Irish public is being asked to stay at home, except for travel for work, education or other essential purposes, or to take exercise within 5km of home.
Due to the risk of the virus spreading, the Gardai have been granted additional powers to ensure public safety and enforce the various Covid regulations.
These new powers bestowed upon the Gardai include the ability to arrest without warrant and impose new fixed penalty notices..
Offences are punishable by a fine of up to €2,500, six months imprisonment, or a combination of both.
As stated by Citizens Information, for certain offences, you can be fined a fixed amount. A Garda can give you a fixed penalty notice. If you do not pay it within 28 days, you can be prosecuted in court.
A Garda can issue the following fixed penalties under the Health Act 1947 (Fixed Payment Notice and Dwelling Event Provisions) (COVID-19) Regulations 2020, as amended:
| Offence | Fixed charge |
| Not wearing a face covering on public transport, without a reasonable excuse | €80 |
| Not wearing a face covering in a retail outlet, or other specified premises, without a reasonable excuse | €80 |
| Travelling without a reasonable excuse | €100 |
| Attending an unlawful social or recreational gathering in a home | €150 |
| Organising an unlawful social or recreational gathering in a home | €500 |
| Organising a prohibited event that is not in a home | €500 |
| Travelling to a port or airport without a reasonable excuse | €500 |
Over the weekend, Gardaí stopped 280 sunseekers and skiers at Dublin Airport before fining them €100 each for breaking Covid travel rules.
The gardaí only fined people who were undertaking journeys that were considered non-essential.
A new fine of €500 was introduced by the Government this week, which will make it more punitive if you wish to break the 5km rule and try and fly away.
The Government confirmed the rules will apply to people arriving here from overseas through Northern Ireland. However, if the gardaí stop and fine you, they can only advise you to turn around and go home.
They have no power to detain or seize a person, even if they are blatantly flouting the rules which everybody else obeys.
