Fines for dangerous driving offences are set to double as the Government has said it will introduce new regulations to tackle speeding, phone use and non-wearing of seatbelts.
It comes after a weekend of tragedies on Irish roads as four people lost their lives.
Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton will introduce regulations that will double the fixed charges relating to key road safety offences.
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This will see the fine for speeding increase from €80 to €160, while the fine for using a mobile phone while driving or for not wearing a seatbelt will double to €120.
And fines will also be doubled for other offences that put the safety of vulnerable road users at risk.
The announcement was made at the Road Safety Authority and An Garda Síochána's mid-summer road safety appeal, which urged road users to share the roads safely and for drivers to slow down as the peak summer holiday season gets into full swing.
Minister Naughton said evidence from the Road Safety Authority shows that a number of fatalities on the roads are as a result of people speeding, using mobile phones while driving, and not wearing seat belts.
She told RTE: "But this year alone, over 100,000 of these offences were committed, so this is simply not acceptable.
"What I want to do is to bring in a measure with almost immediate effect, to increase the fines which will act as a deterrent for people on the roads, particularly in the month of August - a very busy month where people are holidaying, we have a lot of tourists visiting Ireland.
"There's more schoolchildren out and about, and we're asking people to slow down on our roads and to be extra vigilant, particularly for our pedestrians, cyclists, and vulnerable road users."
Ms Naughton said the regulations on the doubling of fines are being worked on at the moment and will come into effect in the next number of weeks.
This year has seen an increase in road fatalities on the same time last year, with 94 deaths and 673 serious injuries to date in 2022 - a 42% increase in fatalities.
Minister Naughton said as a result of the significant increase in road deaths this year, measures are being put in place quickly that will allow the increase in fines.
She said to increase penalty points would need primary legislation and that is something the Government can work on.
She added: "But what we wanted to do was to act fast to put in place immediate measures, and An Garda Síochána from this morning will have 61 new safety camera zones rolled out across the country and that will be bringing their total number of nationwide speed camera zones to almost four 1,400.”
She said the message is that it is the responsibility of drivers to abide by the rules of the road, particularly to slow down.
"It's about asking the public and drivers to have that responsibility themselves," she said.
"You shouldn't need to wait for a speed van to slow down or not to use your mobile phone."
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