The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has expressed "serious reservations" about the publication today of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Bill, 2002.
If passed into law the latest Bill will strengthen considerably the powers of the Gardaí to seek the closure of a wide-ranging number of premises which are "the focus of or associated with a disturbance or nuisance."
The ICCL called on the Government to abandon it’s latest proposals, claiming the current Public Order Act is being widely used against individuals engaged in peaceful political and protest activity.
According to Mr Liam Herrick of the ICCL, when the first Public Order Act was introduced, the-then government claimed it was needed to deal with violent or threatening behaviour by drunken gangs. However, he said the act is now being used to suppress freedom of speech.
He said the "catch-all clause about threatening or abusive language" is being used against people who make political speeches.
Mr Herrick said the proposed extension of the Public Order Act was "all the more worrying given that there is no independent police complaints body."
The (Public Order) Bill, 2002 will allow the District Court to impose an additional sanction of an Exclusion Order if someone is being held by gardai on suspicion of causing a nuisance. The proposed bill will bar the person from being in or near the premises outside of which the original incident occurred for a period of up to 12 months.
The range of premises covered by the Bill is wide, covering pubs, off licences, discos, clubs, as well as fast food outlets.
Under the Bill the Gardaí will have the power to apply to the District Court for a Closure Order against a premises which was "the focus of or associated with a disturbance or nuisance."
The Order will impose restrictions on the opening hours of a premises in question. "The period of closure can range from hours to days or longer," according to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr John O’Donoghue.
He said: "the provisions of this Bill will strengthen considerably the powers of the Garda Síochána in dealing with the problem of late night drunken hooliganism."
Mr O’Donoghue said the latest public order legislation would be brought forward "within weeks".