Spike in number of drivers caught on their mobile phones across Ireland
New Garda figures show a spike in the number of drivers caught driving with a mobile phone between 2023 and 2024 across multiple counties.
Ireland South MEP
Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has pleaded with drivers to put down the mobile phone this bank holiday weekend.
Advertisement
Dublin performed extremely poorly in the figures which show year on year increases in the numbers of people caught on their mobile phone whilst driving with percentage increases of up to 237 per cent.
The Cork county Garda division recorded a 25 per cent year on year increase in the number of drivers caught using their mobile phones and Galway recorded a 21 per cent increase.
Kildare stood out, having recorded a 47 per cent increase in the number of drivers caught by gardaí using their mobile whilst driving between 2023 and 2024.
Dublin was the worst offender with significant increases across all Garda divisions in Dublin.
Advertisement
Fixed charge notices issued by gardaí for holding a phone whilst driving between 2023 and 2024
Garda Division
Q4 2023
Q4 2024
% change
Cork County
199
248
+25 per cent
Galway
215
260
+21 per cent
Wexford/Wicklow
187
212
+13 per cent
Kildare
348
511
+47 per cent
Dublin West
263
473
+80 per cent
Dublin South
137
226
+65 per cent
Dublin Central
158
257
+63 per cent
Dublin North
194
306
+58 per cent
Dublin East
43
145
+237 per cent
Limerick
230
246
+7 per cent
Clare/Tipp
270
279
+3.3 per cent
Ní Mhurchú welcomed the fact that Garda divisions in Kerry, Cork city, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Waterford, Kilkenny, and Carlow all recorded year on year decreases in the number of people caught driving using their mobile phones.
Assuming detection efforts are static from year to year, Ní Mhurchú described this as a silver lining in the Garda figures.
Ireland
Half of Irish adults say their DIY skills are 'wel...
Read More
The MEP has called for increased use of unmarked Garda lorries which have proved extremely effective at catching drivers using their mobiles.
The high cab trucks are accompanied by a patrol car or an unmarked interceptor vehicle and offer gardaí a birds eye view of bad behaviour on our roads.
She said all options should be on the table to tackle the epidemic of drivers using their mobile phones, including discounted insurance policies for drivers who are willing to install or use technology that blocks phones whilst driving.
The penalty for using your phone while driving is a fixed charge of €120, and three penalty points.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
39 minutes ago
- BBC News
Liverpool's Kelleher set for £18m Brentford move
Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher is set to move to Brentford after the clubs agreed a £12.5m fee for the player, rising to £18m in Republic of Ireland international, 26, is seen as a replacement for the Bees' number one Mark Flekken, who is heading to German side Bayer Bundesliga club have agreed a fee of about £8m for the 31-year-old has a year left on his contract at Anfield but Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili will join the Premier League champions in July to compete for the number one shirt with established first choice Alisson Becker. Kelleher has played in 25 Premier League games for Liverpool since making his debut five years has also played in more than 40 cup games for the club, which means he has won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup, two League Cups and a Uefa Super Cup in his time at international Flekken joined Brentford from German side Freiburg for a reported £11m in May had kept more clean sheets than any goalkeeper in the Bundesliga over the previous two seasons and has only strengthened his reputation while at has played in all but two Premier League games over the past two seasons, registering 14 clean sheets and three assists.
Belfast Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Man dead and girl injured following shooting incident at Carlow shopping centre
The PA news agency understands that it appears that the dead man's wounds were self-inflicted. A young girl was also injured in the incident but did not require hospital care. Gardai have identified the dead man as a white Irish male. Ireland's Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan has described it as a 'really shocking incident'. One local councillor told how people ran terrified from the shopping centre in Carlow town as shots were fired. The body of the man remains at the scene and will not be removed until the area has been declared safe. The shopping centre has been evacuated and emergency services remain at the scene, but gardai said there is no further concern for public safety. A Garda spokesperson said they were alerted to reports of a firearm discharge at Fairgreen Shopping Centre shortly after 6.15pm. The spokesperson said: 'An Garda Siochana are currently at the scene, with the shopping centre and car park cordoned off. 'The cordon will remain in place overnight. 'A white Irish adult male is deceased at the scene. 'The Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team has been requested to attend.' The spokesperson added: 'A female juvenile received treatment from paramedics following the incident but did not require hospital care. 'It's undetermined at this time as to how those injuries were sustained.' Gardai have asked that anyone who may have recorded footage of the incident not share it on social media platforms or messaging apps, but instead provide it to Carlow Garda Station. Anyone with information is asked to contact Carlow Garda Station at 059-9136620 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111. Investigations are ongoing. Ireland's deputy premier, Simon Harris, said he was 'deeply concerned' to hear about the incident and was being kept briefed. Mr Harris said: 'I understand a young child has been hurt and I join with people across our country in thinking of them and their family tonight. 'I am also thinking of all those who witnessed this situation and the awful shock and upset it must have caused them. 'I know their families and communities will rally to support them. 'I am grateful to our emergency services for their work and response.' The Tanaiste added: 'This is a live Garda Investigation with the support of members of the Army Bomb Disposal Unit. 'I have been in touch with the chief of staff of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy, in relation to this incident and the assistance our Defence Forces are providing. 'It's important now that our Gardai can carry out this investigation thoroughly.' Mr O'Callaghan said: 'This was a really shocking incident. 'My thoughts are with everyone affected by the shooting and the community and families impacted, including those working at the scene. 'I would appeal to anyone who has any information to speak to the gardai and help with their investigations in any way that they can.' He added: 'This is something we never want or expect to happen in our communities. 'Gun violence is very rare in Ireland, and I am determined that will remain the case. 'The area in Carlow is safe. 'We must now allow An Garda Siochana to investigate this incident fully.' Local Fine Gael councillor Fergal Browne said people in the town had been left terrified He said: 'I think it is all under control now, it seems the worst is over. 'People were obviously terrified, a bank holiday Sunday, going into town to do their shopping. 'People ran from the centre crying and upset. 'There was a bunch of foreign students in the area, who could not believe they were caught up in the middle of all of it. 'It's a busy spot. We launched a photographic exhibition there on Friday night in the shopping centre.' Mr Browne added: 'There is lots of activity in the centre between people shopping and people working there, exhibitions. 'You could not make it up. It's very upsetting for everyone who was involved in it or who witnessed it. 'I was down there in the last hour and it seems to have calmed down a good bit now.' Mr Browne said he wanted to thank all of the emergency services who had attended the scene.
Leader Live
7 hours ago
- Leader Live
Adams libel trial ‘retraumatising' for Denis Donaldson's family, lawyer says
Solicitor Enda McGarrity said the family had to sit through the high-profile five-week case at Dublin High Court when their own efforts to pursue legal remedies have been 'stonewalled at every turn'. Mr Adams was awarded 100,000 euros (£84,000) by a jury over a 2016 BBC programme which alleged he had sanctioned the murder of Mr Donaldson, a former Sinn Fein member who had been exposed as a British agent. Mr Adams had described the allegation as a 'grievous smear'. Mr Donaldson was shot dead in Co Donegal in 2006. In 2009, the dissident republican group the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the killing and a Garda investigation into the matter remains ongoing. Mr McGarrity told the RTE This Week programme the Donaldson family had been initially 'ambivalent' as to the outcome of the case. He said: 'The case was seen as a sideshow in that the family was aware it wasn't the type of case which would assist them in their long and tortuous search for answers and accountability. 'But of course as the trial played out it became difficult to ignore and retraumatising in many ways. 'The family had to listen along as private and sensitive information was tossed around with little regard to the Donaldson family. 'Probably the most galling part for the family is that they've had to sit through five weeks of hearings in a case which concerned the murder of their loved one Denis Donaldson, and yet when they've tried to pursue their own legal remedies, they've been stonewalled at every turn. 'The process has been an extremely difficult one for the family.' Now that the libel case has concluded, Mr McGarrity said focus should turn to seeking answers for the Donaldson family. He said: 'It has been a tortuous 19-year search for justice and the family acknowledge this case was ostensibly about Gerry Adams' reputation, not about uncovering the circumstances surrounding the murder of Denis Donaldson. 'However, what this case does do is shine a light on the wider, and clearly more important issue of the circumstances around Denis Donaldson's murder.' 'The fact that the family have never had anything resembling an effective investigation into this murder highlights an uncomfortable truth for authorities on both sides of the border, particularly where legacy cases are concerned.' The lawyer said the current Garda investigation was limited to who carried out the murder, not the wider circumstances. He said: 'When we look to mechanisms which could explore those you have things like coroners' inquests, one of the practical difficulties is that the inquest has been adjourned 27 times, quite an unprecedented delay. 'It begs the question, how is justice to be delivered to the Donaldson family if the Garda investigation is only looking at a limited aspect of the murder and the coroner's inquest won't begin until that process finishes. 'That has led the family to call for a commission of investigation to properly investigate these issues.' Mr McGarrity said there was a 'unique cross-border element' to the death of Mr Donaldson. He added: 'Who was behind it and who pulled the trigger isn't the only question. The circumstances leading up to that, how Denis Donaldson came to be exposed, how his location came to be known in Donegal, there are lots of ancillary questions. 'All of which I think the family are aware we may not get full unvarnished answers to every aspect, but at this point they haven't even got close to the truth and they deserve answers and accountability.' He said the Donaldson family would now be seeking a meeting with Irish Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan. 'This family are 19 years down the line and they are no further forward. 'There needs to be a discussion and we would certainly welcome prompt engagement with the minister.'
