A Garda checkpoint on the N7 motorway at the weekend

This lunchtime.

RTÉ’s Crime Correspondent Paul Reynolds reported:

Gardaí arrested and detained people seven times over the Easter weekend for failing to abide by strict regulations introduced to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

No one has been charged with a criminal offence as gardaí will consult with the Director of Public Prosecutions in every case before criminal proceedings are commenced.

…Garda Headquarters also said that in 144 cases where potential breaches of the regulations were suspected – such as house parties and non-essential travel – public order, assault, road traffic, and drugs legislation was used instead.

7 arrested over Easter for breaching virus restrictions (Paul Reynolds, RTÉ)

Previously: New Garda Powers And Your Movement [Updated]

Rollingnews

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17 thoughts on “Seven Times

      1. Clampers Outside

        To put money in Bill Gates’ pocket, and so that he can control the movement of people around the world through virus-free bio-chips.

        That reminds me…
        Mmmmm… homemade chips…

        1. Cian

          With all the flight restrictions there are less chemtrails and because of this the sheeple are finally waking up!

    1. george

      You didn’t read the article, did you?

      “Gardaí have been instructed not to charge anyone they suspect of breaching the Covid-19 regulations with a criminal offence, without first consulting with the Director of Public Prosecutions.”

    2. Hansel

      I didn’t understand why you were calling Covid-19 all a conspiracy, but now understand that you believe it is all a conspiracy to promote the bad science of vaccines.

      People who don’t believe in medical science should be forbidden from accessing healthcare based on…medical science.

      Your jibberish costs lives.

    3. ReproBertie

      “no charges because no actual law has been broken.”
      Are you the DPP now?

      From the day these powers were introduced the official line was that nobody would be charged until the DPP gives the go ahead.

  1. Hansel

    I believe that in order to be arrested you would need to be breaking the law.
    And that in order to be breaking the law you would need to be explicitly disobeying a Garda who tells you something to the effect of “you have no good reason to travel, go home”.

    If so, those arrests are worse than simply “people travelling when they shouldn’t be”. It’s more like “people travelling when they shouldn’t be, and refusing to go home when directed to”.

      1. Hansel

        You could be right Chuckenstein. Not my area of expertise at all. But isn’t every arrest “on suspicion”, with the “proof” only coming after they’re charged?

        I have not been arrested for breaching the Public Order Act, but have had Gardai use it to get us to effectively “stop doing what we were doing” numerous times.

        The only times I have ever seen anyone arrested for the Public Order Act, they have refused to obey direction of a Garda for a sustained period.

        Basically: not just repeatedly doing the thing they were told to stop doing, instead actively telling the Garda “I will not do what you are saying”.

  2. Joe Small

    Its encouraging that only 7 people were arrested under the new legislation on what is usually one of the busiest weekends of the year. Based on what some commentators were saying last week, we were only weeks away from jackboots on the streets, martial law and internment.

    The civil liberties issues aired were, in Ireland at least, completely overblown. However, if i was living in China I would be very worries right now given the new tools at the disposal of that Government for population control.

    Also, is there no possibility of comment moderation for those with obvious mental illnesses?

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