While no one should be making unnecessary journeys at the present time, the realities of life along the border is that some people may need to cross it several times a day.
That's the message from Sinn Fein MLA Jemma Dolan who says she is hoping the gardai will use their discretion in imposing new penalties on those crossing from the North without a reasonable excuse.
Anyone crossing the border from the North into the Republic without such an excuse will be hit with a 100 euro fine from today.
And it applies to every adult in a vehicle, not just the driver.
Jemma Dolan says the message is the same on both sides of the border.
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Damien McGinnity, from Border Communities Against Brexit group, says the new fines are needed because of the lack of cross-border co-operation on the island as a whole in relation to the pandemic.
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