Three fined for face mask breaches since new offence created

Gardaí have begun issuing fines to people refusing to wear face masks, almost seven weeks after the new offences were created, but members of the force are still unable to issue fines to people holding house parties.

The information technology (IT) infrastructure required to add house party offences to the fixed charge notice (FCN), or fines, system has proven to be complex.

Furthermore, Garda sources said because the house parties legislation is completely new and so unprecedented in nature, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris wants Garda members to bring any cases to the DPP rather than advance the cases themselves. There are concerns people who are prosecuted or fined for having gatherings in their homes, under untested legislation, will launch appeals in the courts.

In the period from the end of November until January 6th four different regimes of Covid-19 penal regulations, all enforceable by gardaí, will have been in place, and these all required new IT fixes across the Garda, DPP and Court Service systems, sources said.

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The changes needed to be informed by advice from the DPP and thoroughly tested before they begin operating, gardaí added, noting that this work cannot be done fast enough to match the frequency at which the Government had changed the rules.

Since Monday, when the refusal to wear face coverings was added to the FCN system, three people have been issued with fines across the Republic.

Before the mask-wearing offences were added to the FCN system this week, Garda Headquarters said gardaí had already sent nine files to the DPP relating to face mask breaches. Of these, one prosecution had already commenced.

Deputy Commissioner John Twomey said the latest figures – which revealed a low number of enforcement cases – reflected the fact that the public had been generally very compliant in following the Covid-19 regulations.

“However, while more activities are now allowed under Level 3, it is vital that we don’t become complacent,” he said.

“We all need to wear face masks where appropriate, maintain social distancing and limit our number of contacts.”

Garda guide

All Garda members this week received an explanatory guide from Garda Headquarters which stressed they must continue to go through the DPP when dealing with the offence of holding an event in a private dwelling.

Under the new system of fine announces last month, those caught hosting a house party or travelling to a house party could face fines of €1,000 for a first offence and up to €2,500 and six months in prison for repeat offences.

Garda members have also been informed that it only becomes an offence for people not to wear a face mask if the matter has been raised with them by a designated person – such as a public transport worker or a shopkeeper – and they have declined to wear a mask.

If gardaí are called to the scene, they must establish that efforts were made to ask the person to “come into compliance” and wear a mask. If that is established, a Garda member must then give the person another chance to come into compliance. It is only if they fail to put on a mask at that point that they can be issued with a fixed charge notice, which carries a fine of €80.

Fines can be issued for: not wearing a face covering on public transport; remaining on public transport without a face covering; refusing to get off public transport when asked to do so by a transport service employee; not wearing a face mask in “shops, shopping centres, libraries, cinemas, theatres, concert halls, bingo halls, museums, nail salons, hairdressers, tattoo and piercing studios, travel agents, laundries, dry cleaners, bookmakers, train stations and bus stations”.

The Garda said on Thursday that over the last three weeks there had been 20 alleged breaches of the Health Act 1947, which includes holding house parties and not wearing face masks, among other offences. There were also 22 breaches of regulations governing licensed premises and 21 alleged breaches of the rules governing retail outlets.

Gardaí across the Republic have over the last three weeks continued to operate checkpoints in over 100 locations to monitor if people were travelling out of their counties without a reasonable excuse, Garda headquarters added.

There had also been "high visibility patrols focused on the night-time economy", which had included combating gatherings in public places, as had been witnessed last month in Dublin and Cork cities. Furthermore, the Garda said it had continued to take a very proactive role in combating domestic violence, which has surged to record levels since the pandemic began in the Republic in March.