Garda chief seeks greater powers to curb beach boozing

A senior Garda officer has called for increased powers to prevent the consumption of alcohol in Galway City’s beaches and public parks.

It has been learned by the Connacht Sentinel that, contrary to popular belief, public drinking can take place public places such as parks like Eyre Square and Toft Park, as well as the city’s beaches.

Gardaí say that they are powerless to arrest someone having a drink in the public parks unless they are in a drunken state, and they have called on Galway City Council to implement bye-laws to give them more power to prevent the consumption of alcohol in public places.

Superintendent Noel Kelly of Salthill Garda Station said that drinking in public parks or on the beaches looked bad and conveyed the wrong impression of Galway.

“As far as I am concerned, if a person takes out a can of alcohol on a beach or in a park, the Gardaí are powerless to prevent this happening.

“We may not like it and it looks bad but unless this person is in a drunken state, we cannot prevent this from happening. It is wrong and we want the City Council to act accordingly,” Supt Kelly added.

The issue was highlighted by Councillor Peter Keane who said that it was unacceptable that drinking in public parks could be allowed. He is calling for the immediate introduction of bye-laws to prohibit the consumption of alcohol in undesignated public areas in the city.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel