Street drinking could cost you €1,500 under new bye-laws
Visitors and locals alike could end up forking out up to €1,500 if caught drinking outside a designated licensed area by a community warden or a beach lifeguard if new bye-laws proposed by Galway city councillors get adopted.
Draft bye–laws for the regulation and control of alcohol consumption in public places were presented to this week’s Galway City Joint Policing Committee by Fianna Fáil Councillor Peter Keane, who said they were drawn up in response to complaints by Gardaí they had no power to confiscate alcohol and could do little to thwart public drinking.
The biggest difference between the new bye-laws and the previous ones operating since 1989 was that Gardaí or council employees, including community warden and beach life guards could seize alcohol and destroy it without warrant.
Anybody caught drinking in an undesignated licenced area can be served with a €100 fine, which must be paid within 21 days. That goes up to €200 if not paid and if it is not paid within 56 days the person will be summonsed to appear in court where they can face a maximum fine of €1,500 on conviction.
The bye–laws would make it illegal to bring drink to any beach, river or park and would close down popular drinking spots in the summer where huge crowds gather such as the Spanish Arch, Eyre Square, Salthill Park and Toft Park.
A designated licenced premises includes tables and chairs outside a hotel, restaurant or pub.
The bye-laws could be relaxed in a certain area by applying for an occasional licence during major civic celebrations, sporting events, special community events or festivals.
Cllr Keane said the councillors were acutely aware of the city’s reliance on tourism and the fact it was promoting itself as a city of festivals.
“We’re not kill-joys. We’re not against people having a drink in public. But let’s do it in a controlled environment, in a manner where Galwegians and tourists alike are not harassed. We don’t have control over the availability of alcohol but we do in the manner it’s consumed.”
Cllr Niall McNelis (Lab) said the reason for including a relaxation for certain areas was to ensure glass-free zones could continue during the Galway Races, the Galway Arts Festival and during particular public events in the Latin Quarter and the West End.
“We don’t want to kill the golden goose,” he said.
For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune