According to the research, from Esri Ireland, 44 per cent of the public broke the imposed 2km, 5km or 20km restricted travel boundaries for reasons outside of essential journeys.
As further lockdown restrictions are mooted by government, the survey of more than 1,000 adults in Ireland - conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Esri Ireland - discovered that the top three non-essential reasons for people breaching local travel restrictions were to meet family members (17 per cent); get more exercise (16 per cent); and gain access to a wider choice of shops (14 per cent).
The survey also found that two-thirds of respondents (64 per cent) postponed or cancelled holidays abroad in 2020, with nearly a quarter (22 per cent) opting for ‘staycations’ around the country in place of their original plans.
Below are the key findings of the survey:
- Meeting family (17 per cent), getting more exercise (16 per cent) and access to wider choice of shops (14 per cent) top reasons for breach of local travel restrictions
- 64 per cent of people in Ireland postponed or cancelled holidays abroad in 2020
- Respondents aged under 25 found to be twice as likely to still travel abroad in 2020 compared to older age groups
- 62 per cent use online mapping resources to view updates about Covid-19
