Gardai conduct 370 weekend checkpoints to police Offaly, Laois and Kildare restrictions

Figures issued by An Garda Siochana this week show that officers conducted more than 370 checkpoints last weekend to help police the Covid-19 restrictions introduced in counties Offaly, Laois and Kildare.

The Taoiseach's announcement last Friday of a new 'lockdown' in the three counties led to the Gardai recommencing 'Operation Fanacht', a localised operation to help ensure public compliance with travel restrictions.

According to the Garda Press Office, 374 checkpoints were conducted last Saturday and Sunday in Kildare, Laois/Offaly, and the surrounding Garda divisions of Meath, Westmeath, Roscommon/Longford, Galway, Tipperary, Kilkenny/Carlow, Wicklow and Wexford.

Some 172 of the checkpoints were in the three counties themselves, while the remaining 202 were in Garda divisions in adjoining counties.

Separately, Gardai said 14 breaches of the licensing laws around Covid-19 were detected between Tuesday, August 4, and Sunday last, August 9.

The majority of these cases involved "no evidence of food being served or consumed" in a pub premises. While most pubs have been complying with the current regulations, some 126 potential breaches have now been detected nationally.

The Gardai said files were being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in each case, and it has opted not to disclose where the pubs suspected of breaching the regulations are located.