Cork councillor criticised for suggesting drinking age be reduced to 16

Independent Cllr Thomas Maloney said he thought the motion to reduce the minimum legal drinking age from 18 to 16 was a misprint

It comes as a report showed a significant jump in 15-24 year-olds who don't drink alcohol - from 11% in 2002 to 26% in 2019. File photo: David Jones/PA

A Fine Gael councillor has been criticised for suggesting the legal age for drinking alcohol be reduced to 16.

Implementing Cllr Shane O’Callaghan’s idea could open “a pandora’s box”, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Fianna Fáil's Colm Kelleher warned. Several councillors said doing so would send out the wrong message about alcohol at a time when public health policy is trying to reduce the availability of alcohol to young people.

The comments were made during a lengthy debate on a motion tabled by Mr O’Callaghan at this month’s meeting of Cork City Council, which requested that the council would write to Justice Minister Helen McEntee to request that the government consider amending Part IV of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1988 (as amended) so as to reduce the minimum legal drinking age from 18 to 16.

Mr O'Callaghan said the motion was prompted by the recovery of several bags of empty beer bottles and cans while cleaning a wooded area with the local tidy towns group.

He said it was clear that underage drinking is occurring and that the current system is failing teenagers.

He accepted he was not an expert in the area and added: “I’m not actually saying that I’m necessarily in favour of reducing the legal drinking age - it should be considered, it should be looked at,” he said.

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The motion was discussed on the same day the Health Research Board published a report which showed that more than a third of young people who drink alcohol are engaged in “hazardous or harmful drinking”.

The report also highlighted some positive trends, including an increase in the average age of first drinking (from 15.6 years to 16.6 years) and a significant jump in 15-24 year-olds who don't drink alcohol - from 11% in 2002 to 26% in 2019.

During a lengthy debate on the motion, not a single councillor backed Mr O’Callaghan's idea and he eventually withdrew the motion.

Mr Kelleher said: “You have 16 and 17-year-olds using fake IDs as it is to get into bars in this day and age. 

If we reduce the legal drinking age, could you have 13 and 14-year-olds, who could look very similar to a 16-year-old, using fake IDs to get served in a pub?

Green Party Cllr Colette Finn said Mr O’Callaghan’s suggestion, at a time when the age at which young people have their first drink is actually increasing, “sends out all the wrong signals”.

Solidarity Cllr Fiona Ryan said she accepted Mr O’Callaghan’s clarification that he wanted the issue considered but said that would not be how it would be viewed outside the council chamber.

FF Cllr Terry Shannon accepted that the evidence of underage drinking is clearly visible in parks around the country, but added: “The very idea that we would give in to that, and that we would accept that that is the norm, I don’t think that is good.” 

Independent Cllr Thomas Maloney said he thought the motion was a misprint. Labour Cllr John Maher, a youth leader, said having a drink is just not on the agenda of many young people today, while FG Cllr Garret Kelleher said reducing the age would not be a healthy move.