Covid-19: Gardaí will have no additional powers, but ignoring checkpoints would be 'very foolish'

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Deputy Commissioner, Policing and Security, John Twomey, speaking at a press conference in advance of Ireland moving to level 3 of the Government's Living with Covid' plan. Picture: Colin Keegan/ Collins Dublin

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has acknowledged that gardaí will have no penal power to stop people from moving from county to county, but said that to ignore a checkpoint would be “a foolish choice”.

At a press briefing at Garda HQ in Dublin, the Commissioner said that from midnight this evening for three weeks the force will be placing 132 fixed checkpoints daily on “arterial routes”, including motorways which will reduce to one lane, across the country.

“That is to ensure that people stay within their county and only travel to work if it is absolutely essential to do so,” he said.

Garda presser on new Covid situation imminent, in light of news the force won't be given additional powers to enforce compliance #iestaff pic.twitter.com/P5vIfbBS0W

— Cianan Brennan (@ciananbrennan) October 6, 2020

He said his statement should serve to “warn” people “that tomorrow’s travel will feel very different from today”.

He denied that the lack of enforcement regulations within law will prevent people from listening to gardaí, commenting that even when the gardaí had such power earlier in the initial lockdown it was only used “342 times”.

“Out of literally hundreds of thousands of interactions they were used 342 times. 

Commissioner Harris said the new checkpoints would follow the tried and tested protocol of the “three Es” - engage, educate, encourage."

Asked to acknowledge that people can ignore the three Es and continue on their way, Harris said “they can, but I would say to them that is a foolish choice”.

That’s a foolish choice in terms of their own wellbeing, the wellbeing of their family, and the wellbeing of the society around them. 

He added that people who are willing to flaunt the guidelines “will often have made poor choices elsewhere and there may be other policing options for us to adapt”.

“This is just our part in what should be a whole of society response to the pandemic,” he said.

Last week the gardaí put 2,000 checkpoints in place in Donegal and Dublin alone, with that figure now set to “expand significantly”, the Commissioner said.

Regarding the ongoing issue of house parties, Harris said that “we don’t ignore them”.

“I think you’d agree that the ambience of having guards outside your house party somewhat dampens the mood,” he said.