Traffic throughout Dublin was heavy yesterday, but it was due to the increase in volume generally rather than the traditional December 8th Christmas shopping day, according to gardai.
A spokesman at the Garda Traffic Bureau said that the Garda's Operation Freeflow had helped traffic movement. However, it was the sheer volume of traffic that was causing the problems. Nearly 60,000 cars were sold in the Dublin area alone this year, and others were commuting from other counties.
"There is a huge increase in the volume of traffic, and all we can do is to try and keep the roads clear, but there is only so much you can do with so many cars in the city," he said.
The traffic in the city yesterday was heavy but moving and no worse than a normal day, according to a spokesman. He suggested that, with the bigger shopping centres on the outskirts of Dublin, people were not coming into the city centre as they traditionally had done on December 8th.
The Automobile Association reported that traffic in Dublin during the evening rush hour in the city centre was generally heavy and "very clogged" on the south side. In Cork, the city centre was very busy, and traffic was "choked up" in Limerick city.
A Garda spokesman said they had put Operation Freeflow into action on December 1st. Extra gardai were on duty throughout the Dublin area and particularly on the 21 arterial routes and at black spots.
Last year, from December 1st to January 5th, as a result of Operation Freeflow, 5,000 motorists received on-the-spot fines, at least 400 vehicles were towed away, and there were more than 600 bus-lane violations, according to Garda Siochana figures.
According to a Dublin MEP, Mr Niall Andrews, the DART should extend its hours from 11.30 p.m. to 1.30 a.m. in an effort to alleviate the transport crisis over the Christmas period.
However, a spokesman for DART said this would be difficult because there were only a certain number of drivers, and the structures would not be in place for new rosters.
The maintenance of the track and carriages was carried out at night and this had led to high standards. The cost of extra security and staffing would also be prohibitive, said the spokesman, who pointed out that some of the stations were out of the way of main thoroughfares.