Motorists driving within Dublin city council's controversial 30kph speed zone will be targeted by the new mobile speed check cameras which went live last week, facing fines and penalty points if caught out.

Among the parts of the city to be targeted by the new cameras are sections of Parnell Street and the city quays from Wellington Quay to Aston Quay, according to a list of speed camera locations posted on the garda website.

A spokesman for the Garda press office confirmed that the zones identified on its list will be subject to the new mobile speed cameras, including where they fall within the 30kph speed limit.

Although gardaí have maintained they have been enforcing the controversial lower speed limit since it came into effect at the end of January, no figures on the number of people who have been caught exceeding the limit have to date been released.

This has prompted speculation that officers have been turning a blind eye to the lower speed limit in the city centre. But with the arrival of the new cameras, this seems set to change.

The garda press office spokesman also confirmed that due to the physical limitations of O'Connell Street, it would not be possible to place the new "high visibility" speed camera vans there.

He also revealed that as part of the new regime, unmarked speed camera vans will periodically be monitoring average speeds at the locations identified around the country.

However, these vans will not form part of the new mobile speed camera network and will not be used to issue penalty notices and fines to motorists.

This type of enforcement will only be undertaken by clearly marked speed camera vans.