Varadkar: Raves should not be allowed in Phoenix Park
He welcomed a Garda report on last month’s Swedish House Mafia concert in the park, which found serious shortcomings in how security was organised and the suitability of the venue.
Two men died of suspected drug overdoses, six people were stabbed and 40 people were hospitalised during the Jul 7 gig. There were widespread reports of drunkenness and antisocial behaviour and dozens of arrests.
Promoters MCD said the Garda report was unbalanced and called for an independent inquiry.
Mr Varadkar said the report was “very positive” and the park, which is in his constituency, was a great location for a number of other events but not raves.
“Loads of big events happen in the Phoenix Park, whether it’s the bloom festival or bike week or a number of concerts, and most of them pass off really well,” he said.
“What the report yesterday said is that there are certain types of concerts — essentially raves — that probably should not be held in the Phoenix Park. And that’s common sense to me and I’m glad that’s the finding they came to.”
MCD has been invited to attend next month’s meeting of the Dublin Joint Policing Committee to discuss the report’s findings.
Its chairperson, Cllr Mary Fitzpatrick (FF) said the report “goes into a lot of detail about some basic operational mistakes that appear to have been made”.
“What I would like to hear now is that MCD...will attend the meeting and will respond in detail to the very serious criticisms that have been made”.
She called on the Government “to ensure that no such events are permitted until MCD respond to “the serious criticisms”.
