DONEGAL has one of the highest prosecution rates in the State for breaches of Covid-19 regulations.

According to information from the Director of Public Prosecutions 32 people have been served with summonses in the county since the pandemic began.

Four border counties are among the top six places where prosecutions have been directed.

The two counties with the highest prosecutions for breach of coronavirus regulations since April 2020 were Cavan and Laois, with 50 each per 100,000 people.

Monaghan had the third highest number with 44 per 100,000 people, followed by Galway (35), Leitrim (34) and Donegal (32).

Nationally nearly 1,000 people have been prosecuted for contravening regulations in the past 18 months.

Figures show charges were directed in 926 cases for offences including flouting travel restrictions and pubs failing to serve a substantial meal.

While Dublin had the most incidents of charges being directed for Covid breaches, with 208, its population of almost 1.4m means there were only 15 per 100,000.

The data comes as the Government continues to consider whether this week’s planned reopening should go ahead.

In recent days doctors have reported a concerning increase in Covid cases in Donegal’s community hospitals and nursing homes.

The county with the lowest number of prosecutions per population was Longford with seven, followed by Wexford and Kildare (eight), Offaly (nine) and Wicklow (10).

The figures were obtained under a Freedom of Information request to the DPP’s Office, which said the majority of cases were prosecuted summarily by gardaí at the district courts.

More than two-thirds of these offences were for breaches of travel restrictions, with charges directed in 653 cases.

There were also 88 prosecutions relating to failing to comply with a garda’s direction or refusing to give a name or address.

One person in Cork was brought before the courts for assisting the escape of a person subject to an isolation order, while two people in Dublin were charged with failing to complete passenger locator forms.

Prosecutions against pubs and restaurants included 27 charges for failing to supply a substantial meal and 46 for operating a pub in breach of regulations.

On 28 occasions retail outlets were brought to court for selling non-essential items, while there were a further 22 for business opening in breach of regulations.

One person in Galway was prosecuted for preventing the detention of a person subject to an isolation order, while there were 30 charges for organising events.

The DPP also directed charges on 20 occasions where people failed to provide a PCR test, with the majority of these in Dublin.

The Office of the DPP said that, as most cases were prosecuted summarily by gardaí, no details on the number of people convicted were available.