Taoiseach and local TDs 'must help' effort to curtail 'messing' by Cork students

Councillor Mick Finn had reports from people close to University College Cork of items being thrown into people's gardens and at their property

Students queue outside The Harp Bar in Ballyphehane, Cork, on Thursday in an unofficial 'Christmas Day' celebration. Photo: Larry Cummins

TDs for the Cork South Central constituency which is home to the city's two universities have been urged to get involved in efforts to curtail "messing" by students which a city councillor said was "causing a problem for residents and the public".

Councillor Mick Finn made his comments after events on Thursday when students took to bars and pubs from early morning and continued well into the early hours of Friday in an unofficial 'Christmas Day' celebration.

One video which Cllr Finn said he was satisfied was genuine appeared to show throngs of people piled into the rear garden of a house as a young woman jumps from a height into the crowd. He also said he had reports from people close to University College Cork of items being thrown into people's gardens and at their property.

He said:

People will argue that it's a once-off but I heard a story of an elderly woman on College Road who would not come out because stuff was being thrown into her garden.

Gardaí said there were no public order arrests arising out of the unorganised and unofficial events on Thursday, when officers conducted a number of proactive patrols in Cork City.

"The wearing of face coverings outdoors, social distancing and other public health guidelines are not penal provisions," a Garda spokesperson said.

"Members of An Garda Síochána are not ‘compliance officers’ in respect of the Health Act 1947 (Sections 31AB and 31AD) (Covid-19) (Operation of Certain Indoor Premises) Regulations 2021."

Cllr Finn paid tribute to the work of community gardaí but said members still had limited powers when it came to unruly scenes in private properties, and had to be invited in to make enquiries. 

He said this may need to be reviewed and called on local TDs - who include Taoiseach Micheál Martin - to get involved.

"Our four TDs in Cork South-Central, in which both universities are located, need to step up here and come out and say 'is this acceptable?' Do we need to change the law here that allows gardaí to investigate complaints from members of the public if too many people are in a property, that could be damaging to their health and safety as well?"

Cllr Finn said gardaí were trying to police by consent but added: "There is a lot of poor behaviour being tolerated under that banner and it is impacting on people and I think it is going to get worse and we need to address it."

The events on Thursday are likely to be raised at the upcoming local area meetings with City councillors this Monday.

There were also complaints of unruly behaviour related to Christmas Jumper day in Galway, with gardaí confirming there was one arrest for public order (public drunkenness) in the Eyre Square area of Galway overnight.

"An Garda Síochána in Galway are aware of a gathering of people in the Harbour area overnight," a spokesperson said. "There were no incidents of public order recorded relating to this gathering."

RTE's Liveline heard complaints from listeners this week regarding events in Galway and in Limerick, with many raising concerns over the gatherings of students at a time of rising Covid-19 cases.