Three of Ireland's 20 stationary speed camera units have been destroyed. The only camera on the country's longest motorway, the M1, was pulled out of the ground and stolen -- pole, box, and all.

A second camera on the N3 was set on fire and a camera on the R132 was, "hit by a lorry which kept going."

The State's network of speed cameras comprises only 20 units in Louth, Meath, Kildare and Dublin. They were installed by the National Roads Authority in 1999 as part of a pilot project. It's known that only three cameras, which are placed in the camera box, are in operation in the State at any given time.