Gardai publishes update on retail outlets ‘breaking’ new restrictions as warning issued

Six retail outlets have been found in “suspected violations” of new regulations in recent days.

As Ireland enters the second week of its second lockdown, gardai is trying to ensure compliance by conducting inspections of business premises and conducting checks on main and secondary roads.

Retailers that are allowed to stay open can now only sell what are considered “essential goods.”

When it comes to stores, gardai has said the vast majority are complying or complying after being singled out by officials.

A staggering 954 inspections took place between 12pm Sunday and 3pm Monday.

Gardai is conducting follow-up checks at these locations.

But officials said that as of Thursday, there were six incidents at the outlets that continued with alleged violations.

And Deputy Commissioner for Police and Security John Twomey has warned that gardai will target non-compliant retailers in the coming days.

In these cases, a file will be sent to the Director of the Public Ministry.

Meanwhile, gardai also carried out checks on 132 main roads and around 1,000 secondary roads each day as part of Operation Fanacht.

They say nearly all have complied with Level Five restrictions, recording only two cases where people were suspected of violating travel restrictions since Oct. 22.

In total, 71 crimes have been registered in the course of operations that were not related to regulatory breaches. It is mainly traffic and drug trafficking.

Speaking today, Deputy Commissioner for Police and Security John Twomey said: “Compliance by the public and businesses with Level 5 public health regulations has been very high and we thank them for that.

“From the volumes of traffic it is clear that people are heeding the advice to think before going on a journey whether it is really essential.

“We continue to visit and interact with retail facilities to ensure regulatory compliance.

“We are seeing widespread compliance, but there are some premises that are potentially in breach of regulations and they should pay attention to the obligations they have.”

He added: “A Garda Síochána will focus this weekend on those retailers that are still potentially non-compliant.

“Gardaí across the country continue to support people who are vulnerable or feel isolated.

“If you know someone who, for example, needs to have their pension charged, some shopping done or checked, please contact your local Garda station. We are here to help.

“We appreciate that this is a difficult time for people, but we must all continue to work together to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by following public health advice.”