Garda speed vans collect fines over €1.7m in Westmeath

A sum totalling €1,742,000 has been collected in fines from Garda speed vans operating in County Westmeath between January 2023 and June 8 2025.

The figure, reflecting a 30 month period, placed the county seventh in a list of the top 10 counties where the speeding fines were the highest accumulated.

A figure of €32,437,002 was collected nationally by the Garda speed vans leading to a call from the EU Transport Committee MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú for a get-tough approach to those who are caught speeding on rural roads.

The Fianna Fáil MEP called for a greater concentration of speed vans at accident black spots and on rural roads where speeding is dramatically impacting on road safety.

Ní Mhurchú also questioned why revenue from speed vans across all garda districts fell by 15.9% between 2023 and 2024.

Garda figures released to Ms Ní Mhurchu also show that Gardaí paid out over €44m euro to private speed camera operators between the start of 2023 and up to August 18 2025, meaning that the Garda speed van system is operating at an overall loss.

Dublin and Tipperary were two of the highest grossing counties for the Garda speed vans in the period with Cork and Kildare following closely behind.

According to Ms Ní Mhurchú, speeding caused the deaths of 52 Irish people in 2024.

“A European Commission report from 2020 estimated that 10 to 15% of all crashes and 30% of all fatal crashes are the direct result of speeding or inappropriate speed.

"A total of 174 people died on Irish roads in 2024, which means that 52 of those people died as a direct result of speeding. There are 52 families across the country mourning loved ones because we have failed to tackle speeding in any meaningful way," the Ireland South MEP said.

MEP Ní Mhurchú welcomed an extra €9 million in funding for up to 100 new speed cameras to enhance road safety at the end of 2024 but said that continual investment in new technology is needed to catch those who are flouting the law.