Violence has not made Cork a no-go area but excessive drinking by young people had become a growing problem, an assistant Garda Commissioner has said.
Speaking in Cork at a forum on crime yesterday, Assistant Commissioner Adrian Culligan denied suggestions that following serious assaults in the city within the past month which left two young people on life-support machines, parts of Cork had become no-go areas in the early hours.
The two assaults, he said, had highlighted the fact that irresponsible drinking was the root cause of most street violence; that the culture of binge drinking at the weekends would have to stop; and that young people would have to take responsibility for their actions.
This view was challenged, however, by Fine Gael's Mr Bernard Allen, who said he would not want his children near the Grand Parade area after pub closing time at weekends. Nor would he feel safe there himself. He had used the term "no-go area" in the Dáil and was standing over it, he told the forum.
The forum was convened in response to the recent spate of violent incidents in the city. There have been calls for a greater Garda presence on the streets and for harsher penalties.
Mr Culligan said he had been addressing meetings for years on the question of street violence and he had constantly drawn attention to the fact that excessive use of alcohol was the single biggest cause of the problem, particularly at weekends.
But it was an exaggeration to say that Cork had become a no-go area.
The city had enjoyed a very good record in recent years and Garda measures, which involved working with publicans and club owners, had been very effective in keeping the city relatively free of violent street crime. Supt Kieran McGann said that between September 2000 and February of this year, there had been 1,631 public-order violations in Cork. There had been 1,702 arrests and Garda proceedings were issued in 1,493 cases, resulting in fines being imposed by the courts in respect of 678 cases and prison sentences in 47.
The forum was attended by public representatives as well as business representatives.
One nightclub owner, Mr William Casey, said it was up to club owners, in conjunction with the Garda, to do all they could to prevent drugs being sold on their premises.