Gardaí are planning to come down hard on young people boozing in parks and on beaches over the summer.
The perfectly named Operation Irene – for many of us have an Auntie Irene who frowns upon our joie de vivre, our bonhomie and our many other Franchophilic tendencies – will see Gardaí patrol known ‘hotspots’ where the youth of today gather to get off their faces.
The Mirror report that this comes on the back of a number of incidents over the last couple of summers, when things got a bit rowdy.
“Operation Irene is targeted to combat under-age alcohol consumption and consumption of alcohol in a public place,” reads a report seen by the newspaper.
“Gardai will enforce legislation regulating the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol as well as relevant public order legislation.”
This sort of thing? Down with it
The new measures will come into force on June 1st and will run until the end of August.
“Most people just want to enjoy the sunshine but there is a very real element that use the weather as an excuse to get off their heads drunk,” said Fianna Fail’s Daithí De Roiste.
“So what this initiative is all about is increasing Garda presence around problem areas. Places where families are trying to walk with their young children and areas like that.
“You have situations developing in parks and beaches where people are afraid to walk because there are smashed bottles or drunk people hanging around.
“Nobody should feel unsafe while out with their families. It’s totally unacceptable That’s what it’s all about.”
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