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Alcohol-fuelled attacks and disorder soar 
PUBLIC order incidents have shot up by almost 60 per cent in Ireland in
the past five years — fuelled by an explosion in alcohol abuse which
experts say the Government has failed to tackle.
Figures supplied to The Irish Post’s sister newspaper the Irish
Examiner by the Central Statistics Office also show the total number of
assaults jumped by nearly 20 per cent between 2003 and 2007.
The figures follow several drink-fuelled public order incidents on St.
Patrick’s Day — including mass disorder by up to 100 drunken
youths in Finglas in north Dublin.
Highlighting the scale of the alcohol problem, a separate report by the
Health Research Board (HRB) has revealed a 21 per cent rise in the number
of new alcohol treatment cases between 2004 and 2006.
Statistics from the CSO for the period 2003 to 2007 reveal:
- A 57 per cent rise in public order offences from 25,669 to 40,380.
- A 13 per cent fall in drunkenness offences from 11,922 to 10,359.
- A 26 per cent rise in minor assaults from 8,248 to 10,423.
- A 3 per cent fall in assaults causing harm from 3,942 to 3,832.
- A 31 per cent overall rise in all four categories from 49,781 to 64,994.
“The figures from the CSO and the HRB all point to problems caused
by alcohol,” said public health expert Dr Joe Barry of Trinity College
Dublin.
“Literally every month there is a report on the different harms
from alcohol whether public order or health-related.
“Still there is very little Government action. The Government needs
to tackle alcohol in the same way as they tackled tobacco.”
He said the greater the availability of alcohol, the more likely that
incidents like the one in Finglas would happen.
A total of 17 people were arrested following almost a day of disturbances
in the area.
Seven cars were burnt, a van was petrol-bombed and a car was hijacked
and its driver pulled out of the vehicle and assaulted.
Another car was almost hijacked and people were threatened in their homes
as the day descended into chaos, with gardaí in riot gear eventually
restoring order.
Minister of State at the Department of Justice Seán Power said:
“We have a problem with binge drinking in this country. This is
leading to public disorder and antisocial behaviour.”
He said drink had played a considerable role in the Finglas violence.
“I’d be very concerned about what happened in Finglas,”
he said.
“Very young kids seemed to have indulged in alcohol.”
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