Father and son ordered to pay State’s costs after Covid fine challenge

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Nicolae and Florin Mazarache were ordered to pay the State’s legal costs after the Court of Appeal dismissed their challenge to fixed penalty notices over alleged Covid regulation breaches. The costs ruling was delivered on 26 February 2026.

The notices followed their travel to Dublin Airport in 2021 and alleged an offence under the 1947 Health Act. The court had dismissed their appeal the previous October, ruling that questions about the notices should be resolved in the District Court. At the costs hearing, the court said the case did not meet the requirements for an exceptional circumstance that would avoid an opposed costs order.