The Irish Mirror can reveal that people are still being jailed and fined for crimes committed during the pandemic.
Our special investigation found that more than 13,000 cases were initiated under the old Covid-19 law.
Fines totalling €775,000 and a total of over 70 prison terms were imposed, reports The Mirror.
In 2021 a man fined €2000 for returning to Ireland from abroad to check on his elderly mother is contesting his case.
Two people were jailed for breaching the restrictions in the first four months of this year, three years after emergency laws were introduced to limit the spread of the virus.
So far in 2023, 1,700 cases have been brought to court.
The reports come after Prime Minister Leo Varadkar warned of a “new wave of Covid” with a 90% rise in cases this summer.
Attorney Brian Burns insisted the cases should be closed once the pandemic is over.
Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan called on judges to be lenient on criminals because of Covid-19.
Mr O’Callaghan said: “There were reasons justifying the enactment of those laws at that time. But I would hope that prosecutors take into account the exceptional nature of that when deciding now whether to initiate or persist with prosecutions. If lockdown prosecutions still come before our courts, the unique background should be taken into account,” reports The Mirror.
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