380 fines for driving while using a mobile phone have been issued to Clare drivers so far this year.
The number of offences that took place in this county increased by nearly 15 percent in 2020.
In response to a parliamentary question frm the Social Democrats, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has told the Oireachtas that more than 2,500 fines for motorists using a mobile phone were issued in the Clare Garda Division between January 2018 and November 2021.
910 of these were in 2018, with a significant drop off seeing 584 issued to drivers in this county in 2019.
That increased by around 13 percent to 662 last year, in spite of a significant reduction in traffic due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
380 fines have been issued here up to the beginning of this month, suggesting 2021 will see a fall off in the number of fines being issued to motorists in Clare.
Just 6 of the 27 other Garda divisions nationwide have issued lower numbers of fixed charged notices so far this year than the Clare Garda Division.
More than 20,000 fines for the offence have been given out nationwide so far in 2021 – a drop of nearly a third on the total number handed out back in 2018.
