Almost €80 million has been collected from motorists in fines for road traffic offences over the last three years.
New Department of Justice figures reveal the total value of fines imposed on motorists by the courts is set to double this year to €15 million.
Moreover, this source of revenue is set to rise considerably following the recent roll-out of the penalty points system and with the introduction next year of privately operated speed cameras.
The figures emerge at a time of greater than ever enforcement by the Garda of road traffic laws and follows a sustained effort by District Courts in recent months to clear case backlogs.
Some 60 per cent of all District Court cases relate to road traffic offences.
The data reveals gardaí have collected €45 million in motoring fines over the last three years, with the annual total remaining constant at around €15 million each year.
The courts have collected fines revenue of €31.1 million in the same three-year period. In 2004 the total reached €8.8 million; it dipped to €7.53 million in 2005; and to date this year has reached €14.8 million.
Conor Faughnan of the AA said he believed the increase in fines imposed this year had resulted from increased Garda enforcement.
"We would hear complaints all the time from members of the public who tell us that fines in the courts for some offences are very lenient," he said.
"There seems to be no indication that the courts have taken a harder line this year so you can deduce that the increase in fines is because of increased enforcement."
While the full range of 36 penalty points was rolled out in April, enforcement is likely to become much greater next year as new recruits are added to the Garda Traffic Corps.
The unit will number over 1,000 for the first time next year, continuing to grow to 1,200 by the end of 2008. It currently has just over 800 members.
Thirty one of the 36 penalty point offences carry fixed charges of between €60 and €120. In the case of the remaining five offences, detection leads directly to a court hearing.
A motorist has 28 days from the date the fixed-charge notice is issued to pay. Anyone who pays in the subsequent 28-day period must also pay that amount plus a 50 per cent premium.
Court proceedings are initiated if a fixed charge is not paid within this 56-day period.
By the end of the year penalty points will have been issued on nearly four million occasions.
In January there were 301,000 cases. This had risen to 336,000 in August and with greater enforcement in recent months is likely to reach a figure in excess of 350,000 this month.
