Fines for breaching Covid regulations 'in place in days' 

A Garda on Covid-19 regulations checkpoint duty at Cobh Cross, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan

With regard to new regulations for fines for people not adhering to Covid restrictions, Justice Minister Helen McEntee told Newstalk Breakfast that the regulations would be in place within days. 

The necessary legislation had been signed by the President, but it had taken a while for the Garda Pulse system to be updated.

The gardaí had said that the Covid fines were legislation they could implement, the minister told Morning Ireland. It would mean there were repercussions for people defying the restrictions.

Ms McEntee also said that the gardaí would continue to work on ensuring that any protests or rallies remained peaceful because everyone had the right to protest. Gardaí would have the right to intervene if such events became violent.

The “huge numbers” currently being tested had put pressure on the contact tracing system, but new staff were being hired every week. Responding to reports that some tracers had been asked to use their own laptops, Ms McEntee said that may have been the case during training, but that no tracers would be working without an HSE laptop.