8 COUNTIES WITH NO TEST PURCHASES SINCE 2014 – BROUGHAN
Deputy Broughan today received a reply to a Parliamentary Question that he raised back in July with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, on the number of test purchases carried out under the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 per county each year since 2014. Figures received today show that there have been 1,103 test purchases nationally since 2014 up to the 16th of July 2017 and that 116 of these were listed as ‘Crime’ and 987 were listed as ‘Non-Crime’. However, on further analysis of the data provided, there are 8 counties in which no test purchases were carried out over the three and a half years (Galway, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Roscommon, Longford and Wexford) and a further 6 that have had no test purchases since 2015 (Clare, DMR East, Sligo, Leitrim, Tipperary and Waterford).
Test Purchases came into effect on the 1st of October 2010 after the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 inserted a new Section 37C into the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1988. Section 37C allowed for the Gardaí to ‘test’ licence premises on whether they are selling alcohol to under 18s. There are guidelines around selecting the licensed premises, safeguards for the young person (the “test purchaser”) who must be aged between 15yrs and 18yrs and have parental/guardian consent.
The figures received by Deputy Broughan today show that nationwide in 2014 there were 294 test purchases, 264 of which were ‘Non-Crime’ and 30 were ‘Crime’; 304 in 2015 of which 269 were ‘Non-Crime’ and 35 were ‘Crime’; 329 in 2016 of which 298 were ‘Non-Crime’ and 31 were ‘Crime’ and up to the 16th of July 2017 there were 176 test purchases, 156 of which were ‘Non-Crime’ and 20 were ‘Crime’. However, it is only when Deputy Broughan was examining the figures by county that he noticed the huge disparity per county and by year. For example, there were just 3 test purchases carried out in Clare in the 3.5yrs, just one in the Dublin Metropolitan Region East in 2015 both ‘Non-Crime’, there was one ‘Crime’ test purchase in Mayo in 2016 and none in the other years of the data. Sligo/Leitrim only had 2 test purchases in 2015 and both were non-crime, meanwhile in Louth there were none in 2014, 2015 or up to the 16th of July 2017 but in 2016 there were 47, 46 of which were ‘Non-Crime’ and 1 which was ‘Crime’.
Deputy Broughan says “I’m not surprised at the disparity across counties here as we have seen inconsistencies in other areas of policing across the country also. I would be interested to know what reviews are taking place of the views of the young people acting as ‘test purchasers’, whether the safeguards need to be reviewed. I have submitted some follow up PQs on the matter and also regarding the conviction rates then for those who were found to be committing the crime of selling alcohol to an underage person.”
Tags: Alcohol, An Garda Siochana, justice, Test Purchases
