The number of fatalities on roads in the Republic during December is up by some 68 per cent on the same month last year, according to the latest figures from Garda headquarters.
A total of 32 people have died in road traffic accidents in the State since December 1st compared to 19 fatalities during the same period last year.
In the past year, 378 people have died on the roads compared to 335 for the same period in 2003, according to the Garda figures.
The figures have been the subject of great concern among road safety bodies, where there is now a strong belief that the initial effects of the penalty points system have worn off.
The number of drink driving arrests during the Garda Christmas drink driving campaign is up 5 per cent on last year, with 1,122 people arrested as of the end of last week: The overall figure for 2003 was 1,073.
Last week alone 221 people were arrested for suspected drink driving compared to 287 for the same week last year.
The Christmas drink driving campaign got underway at the end of November and ends next Wednesday, January 5th.
Meanwhile, the number of people breath tested in the first four weeks of this year's campaign is up by 45 per cent - 1,589 this year compared to 1,168 in 2003.