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07 Sept 2025
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07 Sept 2025
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New rules and safety measures for Garda checkpoints across Irish roads are set to come into effect following a review of road safety by An Garda Síochána.
A detailed risk assessment of a speed checkpoint location must now be carried out if a Garda is to conduct one alone and all members of the Garda, up to the rank of inspector, must undergo a new "out-of-vehicle" safety course, which trains Gardaí on what to do as soon as they leave their vehicles.
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The new measures come as a response to the tragic death of Garda Kevin Flatley, who was struck by a motorbike while conducting a speed checkpoint by himself in north Dublin on May 11. The driver of the motorbike, Izzet Can Berber, also died from his injuries a number of weeks later in Beaumont Hospital.
His death followed a string of previous incidents where members of Gardaí were seriously injured while conducting checkpoints along, something the then-grad commissioner Drew Harris said was "a regular occurrence".
A spokesperson for the Gardaí said the new measures would "ensure the safety of Gardaí at checkpoints," and added, "As part of this, long planned updated out-of-car training was introduced online and made compulsory for all Garda, Sergeant and Inspector ranks.
"This course reflects current learnings from police services in France, Germany and The Netherlands, and informs Gardaí of what is required when setting up a checkpoint or stopping a vehicle."
However, the new training "fails to address the ongoing crises in resources to properly implement such policies", according to the Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents rank and file Gardaí.
However, less than one-fifth of Gardaí who are enrolled to undertake the new safety requirements have completed it successfully since its rollout in June, and it's understood the new measure have caused confusion among rank and file Gardaí.
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A source close to the Garda has said there are a large number of Gardaí who believe that one-Garda checkpoints have been disbanded "but this isn't actually the case".
"The bigger issue is that even if Gardaí were to adhere to what is contained on the course, there are simply not enough Gardaí to carry out checkpoints in accordance with its delivery," the source added.
A Garda spokesperson has said there will be an increase in road policing numbers in the coming months and 23 Garda members were allocated to roads policing units during the latter half of 2025.
A further 26 officers were deployed to units in June across Sligo/Leitrim, Donegal, Louth/Cavan/Monaghan, Galway, Wexford/Wicklow, Kildare/Carlow, Laois/Offaly and Waterford/Kilkenny.
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