A Waterford man has been fined by gardaí in Cork after presenting a letter to them falsely claiming he was travelling on essential business.
The letter claimed the man was employed by a construction company and works within ‘Cork County & Kerry.’
Garda inquiries into the letter revealed that it was fake, and the man was issued with a €100 fine and returned to Waterford.
Gardaí have issued more than 2,400 fines for non-essential travel.
Gardaí in Cork stopped a driver who produced a letter claiming he was employed by a construction company on essential building works. Enquiries revealed the letter was fake. €100 fine issued, male returned to Waterford.
Please comply with Regulations
Stay Home/ Stay safe pic.twitter.com/UqSimVlNOp— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) January 29, 2021
Gardaí can now issues fines for organising and attending a house party - 16 fines were issued on Thursday to organisers and people at house parties in locations like Limerick, Cork, Galway, and Kilkenny/Carlow.
People travelling to or from a party - even to their neighbour's house - can also be fined.
Gardai in Waterford are advising the public to stay within the 5km limit when taking part in exercise this weekend.
Sergeant James Twomey from the Roads Policing Unit in Waterford says he understands that it is a very hard time for people:
"We have wonderful facilities in this county, fantastic beaches and mountains, and we appreciate people want to get out and visit these places, but we would advise people to stay within their 5k. If you don't have a valid reason, don't travel."
Gardai are continuing to mount checkpoints on access roads to airports and ports to check if people travelling to them - in private cars or on bus services - are on an essential journey.
Nationwide checkpoints and high visibility patrols at public amenities across the country will also continue this weekend.
