A Fianna Fail councillor in Portlaoise is demanding that the authorities there impose a curfew on young people to end rowdyism at weekends.
Mr Joe Dunne is typical of many provincial councillors who are plagued by demands from their constituents that something be done about the increasing casual violence that haunts their home towns at weekends. This week the councillor, who has grown-up children, said he had reached the end of his tether and wanted a curfew imposed.
"Every Sunday I am awakened by calls from local townspeople asking me to do something about the level of disturbance which goes on each weekend," he said.
"It is particularly difficult for older people living in the centre of the town where these youngsters congregate after the pubs have closed.
"I want a curfew imposed on young people because they clearly do not know how to behave and I do not know how it should be enforced but it should be done. Youngsters should be home under parental supervision by 11 o'clock."
Mr Dunne said that in recent weeks he had received complaints about car horns blowing, young people shouting and fighting, and windows being broken, especially in the town centre.
"Older people, and I am not talking about senior citizens, are afraid. There is a level of fear out there that something serious can happen and they will be able to do nothing about it," he said.
"On Sunday mornings, when we get up, we see the damage that has been done, especially to business premises, in the centre of my town.
"I would like to see the takeaway food outlets having to close their doors at the same time the pubs close down. I think that would be a big help in clearing the streets."
This would help to ease the pressure if a curfew was not imposed, he added.
Mr Dunne, who raised the matter at a recent meeting of the local town commissioners, said the issue could also be addressed by having more gardai on patrol. He said his proposal that the local gardai be asked what they were doing to tackle the problem had been approved by the town commissioners.
"I am no killjoy but at the end of the day, decent people have a right to live in peace without being interfered with in any way and that is not happening now," he said.
Mr Dunne said Portlaoise was not the only town in the midlands or rural Ireland which was experiencing such problems. The same complaints have been made in recent months in most of the midland towns where the gardai have put into place their "Oiche" plan to counter the level of disturbance.
The editor of the Leinster Express, Mr John Whelan, said his paper was carrying an increasing number of court cases arising out of such incidents in recent weeks.
"We had to devote four pages to the court cases last week and I believe that is a result of increased Garda action under the `Oiche' plan," he said.
"I don't think Portlaoise is any more violent than any other town but compared to 10 years ago, there would appear to be far more incidents."
Councillors in Athlone this week welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, that closed circuit television will be put in place in the town to monitor such incidents.
However, there was disappointment in Mullingar, which recently applied to the Department of Justice to have the system put in place in the Westmeath capital.