The Government has approved the privatisation of speed cameras to dramatically increase the number of road speed checks.
At yesterday's Cabinet meeting, ministers approved a report by an expert working group of senior civil servants and gardaí, which recommended the move.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is to announce plans later this week to introduce legislation enabling non-Garda personnel to operate the cameras and to process speeding fines and penalty points.
He is expected to stress that although the system will be privatised, it will remain under the control and direction of the Garda Traffic Corps.
The expert report recommends the use of mobile speed cameras mounted in vans and cars, as opposed to fixed cameras, which it says should only be used in high traffic volume locations on motorways and dual carriageways.
As reported in The Irish Times last week, the report states that the cameras should target between 500 and 600 locations, many of which have been identified by local gardaí and the National Roads Authority as accident and high-speed blackspots.
It says most checks should be carried out at weekends, especially between midnight and 3am, when the highest number of road accidents occur, and that they should take place on national and rural roads, as opposed to dual carriageways and motorways.
The report also recommends that the new system should not be financed from the speeding fine revenue but directly from the Exchequer. It says the initial cost will be €25 million for the first five years.
However, it is estimated that it will bring in more than €70 million in fines in the first year of operation, although this is expected to decline as driver behaviour improves.