Michael Healy-Rae: Killarney street scenes would not have occurred if pubs were open

Still of video showing the scenes in Killarney on Saturday night.

Independent Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae has said scenes of people drinking on the street in Killarney last Saturday night would not have happened if all pubs were open.

What had happened on Saturday night was not representative of what happens in Kerry, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

“Killarney is an extremely well policed and managed town, we do not have instances like this or any type of occurrence, that is not a regular type of occurrence.

“The gardaí are ever-present on our streets, but that night we had a number of very unfortunate incidents, a young man lost his life in Killarney, the gardaí were still at that scene, they were there within minutes and had dispersed that crowd.” 

Mr Healy-Rae pointed out that the incident on Saturday night did not occur inside a public premises.

“This was not inside any public premises, because our publicans that are opened, they run exceptionally efficient businesses, very well controlled, they are adhering to all the guidelines and they're doing everything correctly.

“That is why I would use that scene in Killarney on Saturday night as an argument in persuading government to allow all public houses to open.

Because if our public houses are open, people will get alcohol in a measured and principled way, by responsible people who go before our courts every 12 months and who run what I call respectable public houses.

"These are people who have been giving out drink to people for many decades, family pubs, family hotels, family restaurants, they're responsible people.

“I'm advocating that all pubs should be open, not just ones who serve food.” Mr Healy-Rae acknowledged that his brother Danny runs a pub, but said that everyone in this country was entitled to their opinion.

“I don't agree with the public health advice, no one can go into detail about what is the difference between a wet house and one serving food. There are a lot of anomalies.

"Of course I will adhere to and go along with the advice, but that doesn't mean to say that I have to blindly agree and say they're 100% right in everything they say. That is not life.”

The HSE’s chief executive Paul Reid has said that while the scenes on the street in Killarney at the weekend were unfortunate, he did not want to see young people being blamed and targeted.

There needed to be a redoubling of efforts to win their hearts and minds, he told Newstalk Breakfast.

“As we head into the winter we need to be communicating to people with hope and confidence.”