Gardaí to dump €5k of alcohol seized from public areas
The mass seizures of 2,000 items of alcohol were laid out yesterday by gardaí, with officers warning there would be no let-up in the confiscation from drinkers in public places.
Cans and bottles filled a room at the Harcourt Terrace Station yesterday.
The dozens of crates of beer, and numerous wines and liquors, were confiscated under new powers given to gardaí under the recently enacted Intoxicating Liquor Act, which came into effect last month.
“They were seized from right across the spectrum from young people and not so young. Right across the board from all areas of Dublin, from streets, car parks, public amenities, laneways,” said Garda Inspector Patrick McMenamin.
“The issue is the on-street drinking, public order and antisocial behaviour.
“The new act now enables us to deal with that and has given us powers to do that and to ensure that those amenities and public places, that people can enjoy those without interference or nuisance from what is a very small antisocial element within those communities,” the garda added.
Gardaí say they plan to dispose of the gallons of alcohol in an environmentally friendly way with the co-operation of Dublin City Council.
The items will not be resold or donated to charity, gardaí admitted, because of fears they could be contaminated or spiked.
Gardaí say the amounts of alcohol seized represented 700 to 800 seizures or incidents over the past three weekends, including the days following the release of the Leaving Certificate results.
Gardaí say about 25% of the alcohol confiscated was from underage drinkers.
While the remainder of alcohol seizures were from adults, gardaí say some of items were destined for underage drinkers.
Ahead of the release of Junior Certificate results next week, officers have warned the new powers will be in force.
“The new Intoxicating Act will enable us to be more effective in dealing with the on-street drinking and the underage drinking which is often associated with, or perceived to be associated, with Junior Cert night,” added inspector McMenamin.
Only a small number of prosecutions resulted from the near 2,000 alcohol seizures, gardaí said, as under the new law offenders who freely co-operate by giving up alcohol are immune from charges.
Inspector McMenamin said the new alcohol laws had made the job of policing antisocial situations easier.
“We now have this legislation and we will be continuing to enforce it not just here in Dublin but throughout the country,” he said.
