Speeding fines
Motorists paid out over €10.5 million in speeding fines last year.
Freedom of Information figures show the number of fines paid increased by 9% in 2019 compared to the previous year.
120,000 fines for driving over the speed limit were paid last year.
That is over 10,000 more than 2018 when 110,000 speeding fines were settled.
Independent TD for Kerry Michael Healy Rae says the fines are simply a money making exercise:
He claimed that fines and penalty points are now being used as a "way of bringing money into the State" as opposed to a road safety measure.
He insisted that everyone wants to save lives, but he doesn't want to see people "criminalised or demonised" for being one or two kilometres over the speed limit.
A proposal for graduated penalty points whereby motorists would pay more the faster they were travelling will not be introduced.
Despite reduced traffic on our roads this year - Garda figures show there have been 69 fatalities so far in 2020 - up 2 on the same time last year.
