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A NEW sanctions regime of graduated fines will be drawn up for violating Covid-19 restrictions, ministers decided tonight.
The Justice and Health Departments will draft legislation for different levels of fines for crimes such as not covering one’s face in public transport.
The decision was made at a meeting of the cabinet subcommittee on Covid-19.
At present, the fines for such infractions amount to 2,500 euros.
It is understood that specific amounts were not discussed for the new fines that would be included in the legislation.
Earlier this week, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar suggested that a new sanctions regime could be considered in which members of the public are fined € 50 for not wearing a mask or € 200 for leaving a county under lockdown.
Currently, the law provides for fines of € 2,500 for breaking certain laws such as organizing a meeting or not wearing a mask on public transport.
Mr. Varadkar made the remarks at a private Fine Gael meeting.
The Health Department proposed a new fine system several weeks ago, but the Justice Department has resisted the idea.
This afternoon Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe was asked if he supports the idea.
He said: “There are already fines for not wearing masks.”
But he added: “If An Garda Síochána indicates that it could make a difference in their ability to implement the law, it is certainly something I am willing to consider this afternoon.”
He said: “In general, my opinion is that we are doing everything possible to help people make these decisions voluntarily. It is the best we can do.”
“While I know there are penalties available on our public transportation, it is still the case now, when you get on a Luas, I now see the overwhelming majority of people wearing a mask.
“I think the reason many of them wear a mask is because of the desire to take care of their own health and that of other passengers.
“So I’ll see what is the basis for a possible decision [to being in new fines] later today.”
Proposals for the new graduated system of fines will be presented to Cabinet in a few weeks.
Separately, the ministers discussed the adoption of the “traffic lights” system planned by the EU for international travel.
The European Commission’s proposal would see countries categorized into green, amber, and red risk levels based on Covid-19 rates.
The new system will be discussed at an EU meeting on Tuesday and the Cabinet is expected to discuss the plans the same day.
The government has long signaled its intention to adopt the EU plans, but problems related to testing for Covid-19 at airports remain unresolved.
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