The number of people being caught speeding on Irish roads is now at almost half the level of a decade ago.
A new report shows the number of drivers caught speeding and issued penalty points declined again last year, compared to 2023, as road fatality rates continue to climb.
A total of 124,632 fixed-charge notices for speeding were issued, down 11 per cent on 2023.
Longer-term figures show last year’s total was down 43 per cent on 2014 (217,475).
RM Block
Speeding has been described by An Garda Síochána and Road Safety Authority (RSA) as the single biggest factor in a significant number of road traffic crashes resulting in death or serious injury.
Since the start of the year, 164 people have been killed on Irish roads, an increase of seven on the same period last year.
If the number of fatalities by year end is higher than last year, which is expected, it would be the fifth year in succession deaths on Irish roads have increased.
The data on drivers caught speeding has been issued by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in a report measuring how successful An Garda Síochána has been at solving crimes.
Although speeding detections have declined, it shows the number of drivers caught for other offences is increasing. That includes dangerous or careless driving and offences related to driving licences and insurance.
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The CSO data, which covers all crime types, compares how many offences committed in 2024 the Garda had detected by the end of August this year. It compares 2024 detection rates with those of 2023.
A crime is defined as detected when gardaí have identified at least one suspect and that person has been issued with a charge or summons, a formal or informal caution or a fixed charge notice.
The detection rate for sexual crimes was 7 per cent last year, meaning more than nine in 10 such offences were not solved. Similarly, the detection rate for frauds was low at just 9 per cent last year.
Both crime types are the hardest to detect and, even in cases where suspects are identified and charged, it often takes many years.
The CSO breaks down crimes into 14 broad groups of offences – across 11 of those groups the detection rate was the same or higher than in 2023.
Overall, crime rates in Dublin are higher than other parts of the country and detection rates were lower.
The detection rate for homicides and related offences – mostly murders – was 75 per cent last year, 7 per cent lower than in 2023. The number of drugs offences solved was 81 per cent last year, up 2 per cent on 2023 while 68 per cent of weapons and explosives offences were also solved, up 3 per cent
CSO data also offers a breakdown for the age and gender of suspects identified by gardaí in the course of their investigations. In assault cases, 77 per cent of suspects were male and the rest female.
Across all drug crime solved last year, 89 per cent of suspects were male. For sexual offences, 99 per cent of suspects were male.
Men dominated across almost all crime types.
However, high numbers of female offenders are involved in crimes such as fraud and thefts – which tend to be non-violent. For example, women were suspects for 37 per cent of the theft and related offences solved last year and accounted for 21 per cent of the suspects in fraud cases.
