One motorist in Co Monaghan was detected by Gardai within the first two hours of today's road safety initiative.

628 vehicles were travelling in excess of the speed limit during the past 24 hours across the country.

'Gardaí say a third of crashes are caused by speeding'

Speed checks are being carried out nationwide as part of National Slow Down Day today.

'156 people have lost their lives on Irish roads so far this year - 28 more than on this day last year'

Over 100,000 vehicles were checked during the operation.

There have been significant detections of speeding on the N2 since the introduction of travel restrictions. Sergeant with the Roads policing Unit in Monaghan Niall