New public-order measures are included in legislation announced by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, yesterday.
They will give gardaí powers to enter premises and impose conditions on how they operate. Gardaí will be able to seek closure orders if trouble continues.
The Minister published details of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Bill, saying it would "strengthen considerably the powers of the Garda Síochána in dealing with the problems of late-night drunken hooliganism on urban streets."
The provisions include exclusion orders making offenders stay away from certain locations where trouble has taken place in the past. Offenders can be banned from premises or locations for up to 12 months. Breaching the order can lead to a three-month prison sentence and a fine up to €650.
The powers under which gardaí can seek the closure of premises extends beyond licensed premises to fast-food outlets which have been the centres of street violence.
Gardaí can apply for a closure order on the grounds of disorder or excessive noise emanating from the premises which effects people within a 100-metre radius.
Owners or licensees will be informed of the order and have seven days in which to stop the nuisance. Thereafter the premises may be closed. The premises must then have a notice displayed in a prominent position containing the order. If this is not complied with, the owner may face a fine of up to €300 for the first offence and up to €600 thereafter. Gardaí can specify prior to the renewal of a licence that owners meet certain requirements, which can include the installation of a CCTV system and limits on the numbers of people that can be admitted. Gardaí could also demand tapes from CCTV as part of investigations.
This same provision also allows gardaí to restrict the types of drink that are sold. The Minister said that while street violence accounted of only around 2.3 per cent of recorded crime, it was still a matter of concern.
Announcing the measures yesterday, Mr O'Donoghue said: "If the premises involved are run in a manner which creates problems for public order and the peace and well-being of ordinary people then I will ensure that the Courts have the powers to close them down."
He added: "The Government's strategy is clear: remove the cause, police the streets, arrest the perpetrators and foster a public attitude that this type of behaviour is criminal and not acceptable."
The chief executive of the Licensed Vintners' Association, representing Dublin publicans, Mr Frank Fell said that it would have been nice if there had been consultation about the Bill with the drinks industry. "I would be apprehensive that the publican is always taking the blame," he said.
He said it would be very difficult to control an order restricting certain drinks from being sold.
"How would that be enforced? I would have liked to have talked to the Minister about that one," Mr Fell stated.
He hoped that there would be consultation about the Bill later on the in the process. The new Bill has been criticised by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties who said it had grave reservations about the new legislation.
Mr Liam Herrick, of the council, said the existing public order legislation was being used at the moment against peaceful political demonstrators and protesters and suppressed freedom of speech. "Giving the police such wide powers is very questionable, especially as there is no independent complaints body," he said.
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