---
title: 141% increase in Limerick prosecutions for driving whilst holding a mobile phone
description: Fianna Fail
---

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# [141% increase in Limerick prosecutions for driving whilst holding a mobile phone](https://www.fiannafail.ie/news/141-increase-in-limerick-prosecutions-for-driving-whilst-holding-a-mobile-phone)

 Written by [Fianna Fáil](https://www.fiannafail.ie/news/author/fianna-fáil) | 30 April 2024

*Cynthia Ní Mhurchú appeals for Limerick drivers to put down the phone this coming bank holiday weekend *

 

Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, Ireland South MEP candidate, has described as worrying figures which show a 141% increase in the amount of Limerick drivers prosecuted by Gardai for the offence of driving whilst holding a mobile phone between 2022 and 2023. Figures that Ni Mhurchú obtained from Gardai show that there were 162 fixed charge notices issued for using a mobile phone whilst driving in Q3 2022 in Limerick. This figure jumped to 391 in Q3 2023 - an unexpected increase of over 141% over 12 months. 

 

This comes on the back of a survey by insurance company Aviva which found that almost a third of drivers have admitted to using their mobile phones while driving.

 

**Cynthia Ní Mhurchú** has appealed to Limerick drivers to put down the phone whilst driving in advance of this bank holiday weekend in Limerick. 

 

*“We have been driving across the southern counties of Ireland this past month and it is frightening to see the amount of people texting and taking calls whilst driving. I would appeal to drivers to slow down and put the phone down. A call or text is not worth losing their life over. 70 people have lost their lives on our roads so far in 2024, a massive jump on 2023 figures. I feel that this is down to poor driver behaviour and the poor condition of some of our rural roads” *

 

**European funds for our rural roads **

Ní Mhurchú has also raised the poor condition of our rural roads and has backed calls from the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC)  for a Europe wide investment programme to make our rural roads safer.  The ETSC recently released a report which shows that around 10,000 people died on rural, non-motorway roads in the EU in 2022 – accounting for around half of all road deaths.** This figure is significantly higher in Ireland. **Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has called for the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility to be used to pay for remedial works on designated accident black spots on our rural roads. 

 

**According to Ní Mhurchú, **

 

*“Unless we take radical steps to improve our roads, whilst at the same time improving driver behaviour, nothing will improve”*

 

The penalty for using your phone while driving is a fixed charge of €120, and 3 penalty points

**ENDS **

[View full post](https://www.fiannafail.ie/news/141-increase-in-limerick-prosecutions-for-driving-whilst-holding-a-mobile-phone)

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