Gardaí told that they must do 30 minutes road policing work every day

Gardaí have been told that they must do at least half an hour road policing during each of their shifts.

It comes as Garda Commissioner Drew Harris ramps up rules following calls for more enforcement by head of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), Liz O'Donnell. 

She is calling for a major increase in garda presence on Irish roads following the "rising toll of deaths" since the beginning of the year, now recorded as 63 from April 12. This is an increase of 15 fatalities compared to the same time last year.

"It's the missing link. It's what we need. Enforcement, enforcement, enforcement," Ms O'Donnell said. 

"We need visible gardaí at the roadside. We need random checks and we need people to feel that there are gardaí at every junction - only 4.5% of the entire garda force is dedicated to roads policing as is, which is unacceptable," she added.

In response, Commissioner Harris has accepted these proposals and is now making 30 minutes of 'high-visibility road policing' compulsory for all gardaí per shift. 

"Despite our collective efforts to date, there continues to be an increase in fatalities on our roads. I recognise the impact of this on families and friends, whom have lost loved ones.

"Therefore, with immediate effect, each Regional Assistant Commissioner will utilise all uniform personnel, deploying them on high visibility roads policing operations of 30 minutes’ duration in each tour of duty," he said.

In the first two months of 2024, there were:

• 6418 Fixed Charge Notices (FCNs) issued for speed offences 
• 14,835 issued by Safety Camera Vans
• 7647 checkpoints
• 878 arrests for drink driving offences and 488 arrests for drug driving offences
• 3129 FCNs issued for driving while holding their mobile phone
• 700 FCNs issued for non-wearing of a seatbelt

"Increasing our members’ awareness of why this roads policing enforcement is important and focusing all of our members on regular daily efforts, we should further increase our impact on roads safety and compliance by those using our road networks," Mr Harris added.

"This increased presence will also support our efforts to detect other crimes which rely on our road networks, such as criminal gangs travelling to commit burglaries, human trafficking and drug distribution offences."