MOTORISTS BREAKING traffic laws are facing a tougher enforcement regime following approval by Government for the Garda to purchase 100 cameras with number plate-recognition capability.
The cameras, which are expected to cost about €6 million, will be mounted in cars operated by the Garda Traffic Corps.
They will detect speeding offences and will also be able to instantly identify other infringements.
The computer and camera system will allow for the instant reading and analysis of registration plates of all traffic passing a Garda car.
The system will be linked to the Garda's Pulse computer database.
It means any vehicles which are not taxed or insured, or which have been reported stolen, will trigger a warning notice on an in-car computer screen. A warning will also be triggered for cars which have not passed the National Car Test (NCT) or which have any other outstanding infringement.
This will allow gardaí to give chase and issue a fine to the motorist.
It will also allow gardaí to instantly identify repeat offenders who have ignored previous fines and other sanctions, and to put them off the road.
Currently, if gardaí want to check on a vehicle they must call their local station via in-car radio and ask a colleague to manually check the registration on the Pulse system.
This is time-consuming and means only a small number of checks can be carried out.
Garda management put a proposal to Government to purchase the new camera system in late 2006.
Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan has now announced that the system has been sanctioned. A number of Garda Traffic Corps vehicles will be fitted with two small in-car cameras. One camera will face to the front of the vehicle and the other to the rear.
The two cameras will allow for instant analysis of registration plates of all vehicles passing in both directions, whether a Garda vehicle is moving or parked by the roadside.
Gardaí believe the tougher enforcement regime will foster more responsible and safer driver behaviour and help reduce road fatalities.
So far this year 70 people have lost their lives on the roads, the same number of fatalities as during the same period last year.
Gardaí also believe the automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) system will prove invaluable in the fight against gangland crime.
It will be able to immediately identify any vehicles stolen to order for the purposes of carrying out murders, robberies or major drug deals. In recent years organised crime gangs have increasingly been ordering cars from car thieves for the purposes of carrying out serious crime.
The approval of the new in-car camera network follows the announcement by Government last month that a network of privately-run speed cameras around the country will go ahead.
The long-mooted project was put in doubt when it emerged that the project would cost €25 million per annum, much higher than the Government's initial estimates of €5 million per annum.
The programme was finally approved by Cabinet last month, and will see a private firm provide 6,000 hours of speed-camera enforcement a month. The tender process is under way.
Gardaí are also in the process of replacing some of their vans which are fitted with speed cameras, with eight new state-of-the-art mobile camera vehicles.
