ID scheme tackles underage drinking

A CREDIT union has launched a novel scheme to put teenagers in the picture about the national ID card.

Bandon Credit Union is the first commercial body in the country to row in behind gardaí and pub owners in helping to combat underage drinking.

The local credit union branch has devised a sponsorship scheme to pay the 6 charge for the Department of Justice-issued National Age Card (NAC) for all school-leavers in the Bandon area.

Nationally, gardaí disclosed, there is less than a 20% uptake in teenagers applying for the NAC.

The nominal charge is a factor in the slow uptake, garda sergeant Colin Collins revealed.

The Bandon-based officer said a number of fake IDs were seized by vintners in the region.

“Teenagers will pay up to 20 to download a fake ID from the internet. They are proving to be very resourceful in that respect,” said Sgt Collins.

The sergeant has produced a montage of seized fraudulent laminated ID cards to alert local vintners about the risk of fake cards.

In Bandon, the NAC is the only card acceptable for access to licensed premises. Manager of Bandon Credit Union, Finbarr Barry is convinced other credit unions will follow the lead of his branch.

“We provide a community-based service and hopefully this will assist the gardaí, local vintners and teenagers in tackling the ID problem,” he said.

The branch’s gesture has the support of the town’s four second-level schools and their 300-plus student population. Meanwhile, chairman of the credit union branch Ray O’Mahony, a vintner by profession, said the underage drink problem remains a major concern for publicans.

Mr O’Mahony said during a recent function he was forced to turn away more than 50 underage people. He commended Sgt Collins and branch manager Mr Barry in taking the initiative.

Meanwhile, gardaí at the community relations headquarters in Dublin’s Harcourt Square said 87,799 cards were issued from the launch date of the NAC scheme in 1999 to the end of 2002.