Q&A: Garda checkpoints are back - but what can they actually do?

Gardaí will adopt three of their four ‘Es’ during Operation Fanacht: engage, explain, and encourage — but not the fourth: enforce.

Gardaí operating a checkpoint at Rincrew Road Roundabout, near Youghal, Co Cork, close to the county boundary with Co Waterford. Picture: Larry Cummins

So why the tailbacks this morning?

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has reintroduced the national operation targeting travel movements that we had during the real lockdown, in April and May. Operation Fanacht involves over 130 major checkpoints on main routes and thousands of mobile checkpoints on secondary roads. It is due to last three weeks.

So, what are the rules?

The Government moved the whole country to level three of the Covid restrictions this week and issued instructions not to travel outside their own county, unless absolutely necessary or they had a legitimate excuse.

What can the gardaí do when I'm stopped?

They will adopt three of their four ‘Es’: engage, explain, and encourage — but not the fourth: enforce.

They will ask you the purpose of your journey, and if your trip does not appear to be necessary or reasonable, he or she will explain the regulations to you.

And if I don’t turn around sharpish, I could be arrested?

No.

What?

They can’t enforce these rules. So they can’t arrest you, issue you with a fine, or summons you to appear in court at a later date. You can legally drive on.

So, what’s the point?

The commissioner has said that the vast bulk of drivers simply followed the Garda advice, even when gardaí did have legal powers in April and early May. And the checkpoints will cause considerable delays for drivers and send a wider message to the public.

Garda sources said that if you get uncooperative, you could attract attention in other areas, including a check about you and your vehicle on the mobile apps over 2,000 gardaí now have.

So, they had the powers the last time. The Government talked about giving them powers this time, but didn’t?

Correct.

And the commissioner said he didn’t need any more powers anyway?

Yes, he did. He pointed out that voluntary compliance worked the last time and that out of hundreds of thousands of engagements, they only had to use the emergency legislation 342 times.

But, he added that if a pattern emerged that people were simply ignoring their advice, then the issue of enforcement would come up. As one source said: “Basically, people have three weeks to get their act together and bring the infection numbers down.”