THE number of people arrested up to Christmas Eve in the Garda's Christmas campaign against drinking and driving was up by 50 per cent on the year before.
But the number of people killed on the roads during Christmas was down on the previous year.
In the five weeks to Christmas Eve, 700 people were arrested, compared with 480 for December 1995.
The increase seems to be due to a big rise - from 26,000 to 42,000 - in the number of Garda checkpoints.
Each year, roughly 10 people were breathalysed at each checkpoint.
The numbers arrested each year represented about one in six of those breathalysed.
Those arrested, however, include some people who refused to be breathalysed as well as people who failed the test.
Meanwhile, the road accident statistics, covering the period from midnight on Sunday, December 22nd, to midnight on Saturday, December 28th, show that four people were killed this Christmas compared with seven last Christmas. But the number of injuries was up this Christmas, 181 compared with 120 at Christmas 1995.
Road deaths in Northern Ireland have also fallen to their lowest level for almost 40 years. The number killed in traffic accidents in 1996 was 142, compared to 144 in 1995, and the lowest since 1958, when 141 died.
Included in the total were seven motorcyclists, the lowest number since records began.
The continuing reduction was welcomed by the Department of the Environment's chief road safety officer, Mr Harry Green, as very encouraging".
He said it pointed not only to the success of the combined efforts by the statutory agencies "but also clearly demonstrates that many road users are now acting much more responsibly".
While it was good news, people should not forget the families of those who lost their lives needlessly, he said. For them the festive season had been a poignant reminder of how a moment's lapse in concentration could have such tragic consequences.
. The RUC Christmas/New Year campaign against drink driving does not end until tomorrow, and final figures will be issued next week. However, it has already been announced that during the first week of the annual crackdown more than 25 per cent of drivers breath tested were over the legal limit.