The Garda now has the power to issue on-the-spot fines to people organising, attending or travelling to a house party in contravention of Covid-19 rules, with 16 such fines issued on Thursday.

Some 63 fines for the “non-wearing of face masks in certain locations” have also been issued. The vast majority of those, 50 in total, were issued to people not complying with face mask rules when in shops.

Fines of €500 for organising “events”, including street protests, that are not permitted at present under Level 5 restrictions can also now be issued. The fine for organising a house party is now €500 and the sanction for attending a party is now a €150 fine.

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Separately, a total of 2,400 fines have now been issued to people for non-essential travel since those fines became operational last Monday fortnight.

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About 1,000 of those fines were issued in the past week, the highest number in the first three weeks of the new system.

While a range of the on-the-spot fines were first announced by the Government last October, the IT infrastructure required to operate them has taken time to install and test.

The delay meant the new €100 fines could only be issued from January 11th to people making a non-essential journey or traveling more than 5km from home for exercise. Other fines have only become fully operational this week.

Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, on Friday said the 16 house party-related fines issued on Thursday were for organising and attending parties in Limerick, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Carlow.

The Garda has again reminded people they should stay within 5km of home when exercising or they would face fines, adding nationwide checkpoints would be in operation this weekend.

Fines also applied to holiday makers going to and from any airport or port because travel abroad for leisure was not an essential journey.

Sacrifices

Deputy Commissioner John Twomey said , the "vast majority of people" were adhering to the rules designed to combat the spread of Covid-19.

“They are staying home, only making essential journeys, and exercising within 5km of their homes. We appreciate the sacrifices they are making and we ask them to keep it up,” he said.

However, other people were not adhering to the regulations and were putting themselves and their family, loved ones and friends at risk.

“People are dying from Covid-19. People are seriously ill,” he said. “Our brave doctors, nurses, medical staff and other front-line workers are putting their lives on the line to protect others. They need our support and they deserve our respect. The best way of doing this is to stay home.

“People should only make essential journeys, reduce their contacts, practice social distancing, and wash their hands. Please stay safe and keep others safe by staying home.”