SNOWHERE TO HIDE! FLURRY OF 5KM RULE BREAKS SEEN
HUNDREDS of people were caught flouting Covid travel restrictions to visit t he snowy Wicklow mountains over the weekend.
The hordes of rulebreakers were turned back from the scenic area by gardaí, such was the volume.
Several illegally parked cars were also towed away from mountain roads as gardaí said they had obstructed access for emergency vehicles to the elevated routes.
Concerns are growing over the new trend of lockdown ‘snow tourists’ gathering in mountainous spots outside their 5km radius.
Garda checkpoints and patrols were in place, with 17 fixed-charge notices for illegal parking issued at one popular Wicklow spot, Luggala, on Thursday alone.
Travel beyond the 5km limit is currently only permitted for essential purposes such as medical appointments, vital family reasons or travel to and from work.
Shay Cullen, a Fine Gael councillor in Wicklow, told Newstalk Breakfast yesterday of the heightened traffic in areas such as the Sally Gap, as well as the Glencree and Crone Woods areas of Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow.
He said: ‘A lot of these people weren’t even close to their 5km radius. In fairness to the gardaí, they had been updating their Facebook pages, together with
Wicklow County Council, to ask people to stay away. The Sally Gap was impassable for a period of time.
‘Unfortunately, people didn’t heed this, and there was a lot of traffic – particularly on Saturday and Sunday – which caused difficulties, particularly for the gardaí. Certainly, there were checkpoints set up to try to turn people back at the likes of Kilmacanogue.’