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A number of new fines have been introduced for non-compliance with Covid-19 guidelines, including a new fixed fine of € 500 for organizing an event in contravention of government regulations.
Under the new fixed penalty notices, gardaí can fine someone € 500 for organizing an event inside or outside a private home that violates public health regulations.
Anyone who attends an event in a private home that violates the regulations can be fined € 150, while those who violate the travel regulations can be fined € 100.
People who do not cover their faces in public transport can be fined € 80.
Individuals who receive a flat fine notice have 28 days to pay to avoid prosecution.
The fines went into effect Sunday under a statutory instrument signed by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly over the weekend that turned the regulations into law.
The Garda Siochána will implement the introduction of these enforcement measures as the relevant systems will be adjusted over the next week to accommodate additional violations.
The Department of Health and the Department of Justice said in a joint statement that the only enforcement power previously available was a penalty provision under the Health Act 1947 amounting to a maximum penalty of € 2,500 and / or six months imprisonment in case of conviction.
The government decided that “a more flexible and proportionate sanction system was required for crimes and breaches of regulations,” the departments said.
They said the vast majority of people followed the health guidelines, but a small cohort ignored the advice and put themselves and others at risk, necessitating the new fines.
Although the Level 5 restrictions, the most severe on the government response scale, will be lifted next week, the fines are being introduced to strengthen the state’s enforcement of public health restrictions and will remain in effect during the pandemic.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin first raised the possibility of introducing a series of new fines to enforce Covid-19 guidelines early last month.
He said at the time that the government’s priority was “working with people to achieve compliance without having to rely on those measures.”
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