Garda Speed Vans Collect Over €1.7m In Wicklow In Just 30 Months

An MEP has called for a tougher approach to speeding on the country's roads as fines raise €32m for the coffers since 2023

Wicklow features in the top ten counties for the most revenue collected from Garda speed vans between January 2023 and June 8th, 2025. 

Gardaí recorded a motorist driving 134km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N11 at Newtownmountkennedy as part of National Slow Down Day.

In all 569 vehicles were caught speeding as part of the latest day of action.

Wicklow County Council adopted new speed limit Bye-Laws in 2023, which went into effect in June and August 2023, and also made a further amendment to the Bye-Laws that was open for public inspection in August 2024.

The 2023 adoption included introducing periodic 30 km/h speed limits outside all schools to enhance child safety and reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on the roads. 

A new process for appealing existing speed limits was also established between full reviews, but it is not for appealing speeding penalties. 

Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú wants tougher measures for those who use excessive speeding on our rural roads.

The MEP has called for a greater concentration of speed vans at accident black spots and on our rural roads where speeding is dramatically impacting on road safety. 

 The EU Transport Committee MEP made her calls as Gardaí released figures to her showing that €32,437,002 has been collected in fines from Garda speed vans between January 2023, and June 8th, 2025.

Ní Mhurchú questioned why revenue from speed vans across all garda districts fell by 15.9% between 2023 and 2024.

Garda figures released to Ní Mhurchu also show that Gardaí paid out over €44m euro to private speed camera operators between the start of 2023 and up to August 18th , 2025, meaning that the Garda speed van system is operating at an overall loss. 

Dublin and Tipperary were two of the highest grossing counties for the Garda speed vans in the period with Cork and Kildare following closely behind.   

According to Ní Mhurchú, speeding caused the deaths of 52 Irish people in 2024. 

 “A European Commission report from 2020 estimated that 10 to 15% of all crashes and 30% of all fatal crashes are the direct result of speeding or inappropriate speed. 174 people died on Irish roads in 2024, which means that 52 of those people died as a direct result of speeding (30%). There are 52 families across the country mourning loved ones because we have failed to tackle speeding in any meaningful way.”

Ní Mhurchú  welcomed an extra €9 million in funding for up to 100 new speed cameras to enhance road safety at the end of 2024 but said that continual investment in new technology is needed to catch those who are flouting the law. 

Ní Mhurchú  has also called for smarter positioning of our current stock of speed vans to ensure they are located in areas of highest risk of road fatalities. She has also called for consideration of re-education courses as a judicial sanction for drivers who are repeatedly caught speeding. 

Top 10 counties in Ireland for revenue generated by Garda speed vans from January 2023, up to June 8th,  2025.