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The DART station at Sutton was temporarily closed after hundreds of young people showed up to attend a rave on a beach.
Big Brother
If you advertise a rave on Facebook, the Gardaí will find you
Alan Shatter said Gardaí were alerted to the rave on a beach in Sutton earlier this month after seeing it on Facebook.
GARDAÍ ARE MONITORING websites like Facebook to prepare for the possibility of events where anti-social behaviour may occur.
Justice minister Alan Shatter has revealed that Gardaí were prepared for anti-social behaviour at a seaside rave in Sutton, Co Dublin earlier this month after collecting information from Facebook.
Shatter said an operational policing plan had been mounted in response to the Facebook event, advertising a rave at Burrow Beach, to which 7,000 people had been ‘invited’. Over 2,000 Facebook users said they were planning to attend the event.
The Garda plan led to the temporary closure of Sutton’s rail station – with most prospective attendees then taking trains to Howth – and the seizure of large amounts of alcohol.
“There were five Public Order Offences, four of which will be dealt with by way of juvenile referral and one by way of summons,” Shatter said in response to Dáil questions from a number of local TDs.
“There were no incidents of injury to persons or property reported. Gardaí liaised with Fingal County Council and Iarnród Éireann during this operation.”
The minister also revealed a regional Garda plan, ‘Operation Irene’, running from June to August to counter any anti-social behaviour that may emerge during milder weather, longer evenings and school holidays.
“This is a targeted operation to combat under-age alcohol consumption and consumption of alcohol in public spaces throughout the Dublin Metropolitan Region through the enforcement of legislation regulating the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol as well as relevant public order legislation,” he said.
Read: Strong garda presence in Dublin after sun brings hundreds out for beach rave
