TUAM HAS BECOME the first town in Galway to introduce public drinking fines.

From 7 July, gardaí can fine people up to €75 for drinking alcohol outside and confiscate the drink.

Independent Ireland councillor Shaun Cunniffe proposed the new byelaws to reduce the rate of public drinking after locals complained the habit was preventing them from enjoying public spaces.

There is no blanket national law against drinking, but local city and county councils in Ireland can enforce byelaws preventing public drinking, similar byelaws are in place in Galway city. 

If there are no byelaws in place, gardaí can still confiscate alcohol from people under 18 who are drinking, or if they believe the alcohol will be consumed by a person under 18.

Alcohol can also be confiscated if the person is drinking in public and behaving in a way that could cause worry for safety, and it’s an offence to be so drunk in public that you could be a danger to yourself or others.

Under Tuam’s new byelaws, anyone fined for drinking in a public place has 21 days to pay. If the fee is not paid within 21 days it increases to €150, and if it isn’t paid for another 56 days the person fined may be liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to €1,900.

A public place means a place the public can and do have access to, including churches, open spaces, beaches, public parks, green spaces and amenity areas, canals and riverbanks.

‘Very happy’

Speaking to The Journal, Cunniffe said public drinking in Tuam has been an ongoing issue, and members of the public are “very happy” the byelaws have been passed.

“We have a number of smaller parks, and along the River Nanny, the river bank is lovely, and there’s seats along there, but a lot of the time they could be taken up with people who are just plonked there, sort of passing the day drinking,” he said.

“It wasn’t a real heavy public nuisance, but it just prevented people enjoying the public spaces we have.”

He said drinking was also a “gateway” to littering and anti-social behaviour, and locals believed it was impacting the biodiversity of nature areas.

The councillor also said that other municipal districts of Galway are now also “very interested” in bringing in the byelaws.

Do you think people drinking in public should be fined?