Reducing drug deaths has been made a national priority for An Garda Síochána under a new operation similar to the high-profile crackdown on burglaries.

Department of Justice and Garda bosses have said overtime funding is available for December but gardaí confirmed a national ban on the practice has been in place since Tuesday and will run until Sunday.

Rolling garda checkpoints targeting motorway exit ramps have contributed to an almost halving of burglary rates across Cork, new figures show.