Record penalty for serving drunk man

PUBLICANS have been warned they face hefty penalties for allowing people to get drunk on their premises.

A senior Dublin city garda issued the warning after a pub was ordered to close for three days after an extremely drunk man was observed in the bar.

The Confession Box in Marlborough Street was ordered to close next month by a Dublin District Court judge. A number of pubs have been ordered to close under Intoxicating Liquor legislation brought in last year but the three-day closure order and a fine of €150 is the most severe penalty handed down.

Superintendent Ray Barry, of Store Street Garda Station, said a garda entered the pub one Sunday evening last April and noticed an "incoherent drunk man" leaning against a wall.

"This is a warning to publicans that we are not going to tolerate this type of drunkeness," said Supt Barry.

"We are not talking about someone who goes in to the pub for a couple of drinks, we are talking about people who are senseless, who do not even know their own name."

The Confession Box will have to close for three days from January 7 to 9.

Under the legislation, a pub can be ordered to close for up to seven days and the licensee fined up to €1,500 for a first offence. Closure orders of up to 30 days can be issued for subsequent offences.

The drunk person has to be in such a state that he or she is a potential danger to himself or herself or others, the legislation states.