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Fine Gael senator calls for 'drunk tanks' at city Garda stations

Similar schemes have been trialled in UK cities like Newcastle, Bristol and Cardiff.

CORK FINE GAEL senator Jerry Buttimer has called for the introduction of drunk tanks at urban Garda stations in order to ease the pressure on hospital emergency departments.

“Increasingly hospital emergency departments across the country are seeing unacceptable numbers of people attending due to high levels of intoxication,” Buttimer said in a press release issued today.

“These people, many of whom have no ailment other than being severely drunk, are clogging up the system for genuinely ill people who find themselves waiting for hours on end to be treated. This cannot continue.”

Drunk tanks are not a new idea. Cities in the UK, including Newcastle and Cardiff, have already successfully trialled schemes whereby drunk people who are considered a danger to themselves are placed in alcohol recovery centres instead of being brought to hospital or kept in police cells.

In Bristol, a converted articulated lorry has been used to help people found severely drunk late at night or in the early hours of the morning.

The facility was launched in 2013 and operates as part of a joint project between the National Health Service in the UK and the National Licensed Trade Association.

According to a BBC report on the Bristol scheme from 2014, the centre kept 15 people out of A&E over one Christmas weekend. The facility costs more than half a million pounds to operate, the report added.

Buttimer’s statement today continued:

“Mobile or permanent drunk tanks have been used in many other EU member states to good effect.

“Swedish police stations contain units for people who are a danger to themselves or others, to sober up, get basic fluids and care.

“In the United Kingdom, mobile drunk tanks are regularly observed at large scale events such as concerts and festivals.

I suggest that similar facilities here could be funded through the small fines issued against people found drinking on the streets or intoxicated in public places.

1 in 20 cases 

One in 20 cases brought to emergency departments in Ireland are related to alcohol, a study published in the medical journal BMJ Open revealed in May.

According to the research, 5.9% of people attending emergency departments included in the study had alcohol recorded in their notes. During the Saturday night and Sunday morning period that number could rise to 29%.

“We confirmed that the people coming to us with alcohol related presentations are more likely to be male, arrive by ambulance, leave without being seen by a doctor, and to leave against medical advice,” Dr Brian McNicholl of University Hospital Galway, a co-author of the study, said.

Cork first  

Buttimer, who was elected to the Seanad after losing his Cork-North Central Dáil seat in the 2016 election, added in his statement:

“I would like to see my own city of Cork leading the way on this. It would be great to see Cork City Council trial one of these intoxication holding areas in partnership with An Garda Síochána and the HSE.

“This could be piloted in either the Bridewell Garda Station on Kyrl’s Quay or through the use of a mobile drunk tank in Cork city centre on busy nights.”

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98 Comments
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    Mute john
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    Jul 15th 2018, 4:48 PM

    Excellent idea

    454
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    Mute niall
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:04 PM

    @john: The levels of public drunkenness are nowhere near what they were 20 years ago. Being drunk in public is now largely frowned on. There has been a big shift in attitudes.

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    Mute Dáithí
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:17 PM

    @john: yeah it was Enda kenny’s and FG Idea in 2006 and guess who”s being in power since

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    Mute John Mulligan
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:35 PM

    @niall: were you ever in Temple bar?

    68
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    Mute Fiontáin O'Colmáin
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:58 PM

    @niall: a shame that the scrotes in Dublin city centre have no shame falling around the place and screaming at each other in plain view of tourists. After the drunk tanks, if we could have s zero tolerance policy to drinking and drug taking in public.

    73
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    Mute Sean Conway
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:45 PM

    @john: Start with the dail bar.

    35
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    Mute Pajo Mata
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    Jul 15th 2018, 7:13 PM

    @john: they should be then slapped with an invoice soon as they wake up.

    46
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    Mute Mairtin Antaine O Conaill
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    Jul 15th 2018, 7:17 PM

    @john: until a drunk dies while in the drunk tank. The Garda I are not medically qualified to care for the drunks of Ireland.

    39
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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:52 PM

    @Michael Allen: stupid comment

    12
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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    Jul 15th 2018, 4:56 PM

    Gardai are not qualified to deal with people that are so intoxicated that they require hospital care. First time someone dies from alcohol related issues in so called drunk tank he’ll be saying the person should have been in hospital

    298
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    Mute Siobhán Ni Mhurchú
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:28 PM

    @Ohhh_reeally: they are staffed by nurses or ambulance staff they are fully equipped with iv drips and a separate pump room if it’s required.. surely that’s better than sitting around a hospital all night waiting to be seen .

    144
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    Mute Mill Lane
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:40 PM

    @Ohhh_reeally:
    Shipping container located n hospital carparks with CCTV monitoring, panic buttons in the cells and half hour walkthroughs.

    Cost effective and mobile enough to cater for festivals, gigs ect.

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:54 PM

    @Ohhh_reeally: tough

    13
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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:29 PM

    @Siobhán Ni Mhurchú: absolutely agree they shouldn’t be clogging up hospitals. Garda stations are not the place is all I’m saying.

    41
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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:29 PM

    @Gus Sheridan: you sure are

    11
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    Mute Siobhán Ni Mhurchú
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:58 PM

    @Ohhh_reeally: they won’t be in Garda stations at all.

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    Mute Ian Breathnach
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:34 PM

    @Siobhán Ni Mhurchú: read the headline….

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    Mute paul kelly
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:41 PM

    @Siobhán Ni Mhurchú: \What is a pump room?

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    Mute Siobhán Ni Mhurchú
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:51 PM

    @Ian Breathnach: read further than the headline and you might get the idea of what they’re taking about. .

    6
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    Mute Seosaimhin Ni Fhailbhe
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    Jul 15th 2018, 10:35 PM

    @Mill Lane: Could we get people on community service orders to volunteer their hours looking after the drunks in them?

    11
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    Mute Siobhán Ni Mhurchú
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    Jul 15th 2018, 11:00 PM

    @Seosaimhin Ni Fhailbhe: nurses and the ambulance service look after them .

    6
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    Mute Watchful Axe
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    Jul 15th 2018, 11:52 PM

    @Mill Lane: That’s a great idea from a cost point of view. You could fine them the next day to cover some costs. The fear of a fine might keep numbers down.

    11
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    Mute Mill Lane
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    Jul 16th 2018, 12:03 AM

    @Seosaimhin Ni Fhailbhe:
    I’d have them in orange boiler suits cleaning the streets at night on the weekends.
    Give them a quota of rubbish to collect and should they fail to meet it….extra community service.

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    Mute Peter White
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    Jul 15th 2018, 4:51 PM

    Finally, a politican has a worthwhile idea. They’ve been doing it in the States for decades

    131
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    Mute paul kelly
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:02 PM

    @Peter White: People die in drunk tanks , they are dangerous. Better to look at our relationship with alcohol, – Make pubs responsible for serving intoxicated patrons.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:17 PM

    So long as they have medical staff, because if you smell of alcohol, most sober people don’t even consider other reasons. . It would be a great idea to wear one of those medical amulets out and about if you are diabetic, just in case. When you’re unconscious, people can’t tell the cause.

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:53 PM

    @paul kelly: make people responsable for their own actions, rather than others responsible for their actions

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    Mute Benny
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:08 PM

    Good idea but make the people using the service pay for it, if they can afford to get bladdered they can afford to pay some kind of charge

    119
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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:54 PM

    @Benny: great comment

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    Mute Adrian
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:01 PM

    A drunk tank would have been useful (and probably full too) in Leinster house that night of the bailout.

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:53 PM

    @Adrian: stupid comment

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    Mute Jonathan Power
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    Jul 15th 2018, 4:48 PM

    A skip in a field be way cheaper. Couple of sausages on an open fire in the morning.

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    Mute Jes McNamara
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:06 PM

    Gardaí are not qualified to diagnose whether a person is “just drunk” or is suffering from a head injury or is a diabetic or 101 other possible causes of drunk like behaviour. Even if a person is “only” severely drunk, alcohol poisoning is a life threatening condition which needs to be dealt with by medical professionals, not cops.

    Let the government invest in our health system and make it fit for purpose rather than constantly dodging their health responsibilities

    Also we hear daily about putting Guards out on the streets and here we are putting them back in stations to mind drunks?

    89
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    Mute Brian Smith
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:11 PM

    @Jes McNamara: so when I get stopped at a Garda checkpoint and breathtested, I’ll inform them of your point that they aren’t qualified . Ever heard of an alcometer, idiot????

    64
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    Mute Jes McNamara
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:29 PM

    @Brian Smith: the breath test at a checkpoint is an evidential test not medical, all it shows is the presence of alcohol and not the amount nor does it diagnose other underlying medical conditions which can be life threatening. Gardaí are not even qualified to take someone’s pulse. The two instructions Gardaí have in the case of drunken prisoners are to check on them at least every 15 minutes and if in doubt on their health, err on the side of caution and get them medical attention which at 4am is generally an ambulance or paramedic. It would help a lot if you knew what you were talking about instead of trolling and name calling.

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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:32 PM

    @Brian Smith can’t believe you made that point and then called someone else an idiot. Christ you’re stupid

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    Mute Brian Smith
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    Jul 15th 2018, 7:08 PM

    @Ohhh_reeally: oh plz, my feelings are so hurt by muppets like you

    5
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    Mute Brian Smith
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    Jul 15th 2018, 7:09 PM

    @Jes McNamar another leftie apologist for all the arseholes in society

    13
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    Mute Mairtin Antaine O Conaill
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    Jul 15th 2018, 7:24 PM

    @Brian Smith: you win the “dumbest comment” award today with that comment.

    12
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    Mute Jes McNamara
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    Jul 15th 2018, 7:26 PM

    @Brian Smith: really? I am neither leftist nor apologising. I am open to the idea of drunk tanks, provided they are properly resourced with medical staff, security/police, equipment and facilities on hand to deal with them. I believe dumping drunks on the Gardaí without this will result in deaths in custody sooner rather than later. It will also result in more Gardaí being taken off the streets to deal with drunks back in the station. I note you again resort to name calling, the last resort of the uninformed.

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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:15 PM

    @Brian Smith: nobody is trying to hurt your feelings Brian. Just pointing out you stupidity

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    Mute Brian Smith
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:26 PM

    @Mairtin Antaine O Conaill: I’m so bothered what you think

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    Mute paul kelly
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:44 PM

    @Brian Smith: Can a guard tell the difference between a diabetic who has one drink and is hypoglycaemic and a drunk? or a drunk person with an expanding epidural haematoma?

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Jul 15th 2018, 11:41 PM

    @Jes McNamara: unfortunately for Gardai they have to deal with drunken idiots every weekend – they are best placed to decide if someone is just being a nuisance and disruptive because of too much alcohol onboard or in need to medical attention – actually they are probably even more experienced as they deal first hand with much greater numbers of drunken people than the medical staff

    5
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    Mute Jes McNamara
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    Jul 16th 2018, 3:27 AM

    @Dave Hammond: there is no deciding, Gardaí are not qualified to make medical decisions, therefore they must err on the side of caution and defer to a medical professional if there is any possibility of a medical emergency

    1
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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Jul 16th 2018, 9:18 AM

    @Jes McNamara: if have you spent time in A+E disrupted by nuisance drunks then you should be able to grasp the concept proposed pretty easily , it works in other countries and maybe instead of trying to put barriers and objections and being a naysayer you should try be more open minded to how we can make improvements in Ireland , and again the facts are Garda actually have more real time expertise handling drunken idiots than medics – and if the system proposed was adopted it would allow the medics get the drunks from A+e and pass into Garda

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    Mute Brian Smith
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:09 PM

    And then charge them a fee the next morning for wasting public resources and time, when so intoxicated

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    Mute Tony Keane
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:24 PM

    How about just charging these people when they show up in emergency department’s, full charge even if you have a medical card.

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:56 PM

    @Tony Keane: hard to enforce but worth a try

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    Mute Dáithí
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    Jul 15th 2018, 4:49 PM

    populist crap always when they think there is an election on the way.. lead by example shut the bar in the Dail

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    Mute Siobhán Ni Mhurchú
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:00 PM

    @Dáithí: how’s that going to set an example? What actual difference would that make ? You think that because that particular bar is closed that people will stop going to pubs and stop drinking ?. Anything that is going to stop drunks taking up a stretcher in an ambulance and hanging around A&E is a good thing .

    50
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    Mute Dáithí
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:09 PM

    @Siobhán Ni Mhurchú: if you think this is about drunks taking up a stretcher , your misguided. This is about getting a headline and trying to get his seat back. the last time i head this was in 2006 by Enda Kenny , guess who has been in power since then..

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:55 PM

    @Dáithí: stupid comment

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Jul 15th 2018, 11:43 PM

    @Dáithí: maybe popular suggestions and solutions are what we need in ireland instead of just whingers and moaners.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:09 PM

    How about enforcing existing laws on selling alcohol to drunk people?

    49
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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:55 PM

    @Dave O Keeffe: very true !

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    Mute Pragmatist2018
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:58 PM

    Remember when Enda Kenny said “get the drunks out of A+E” at the 2007 Ard Fheis? Did they do it in power? No.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:37 PM

    In fairness, weren’t the drunks Fianna Fail?

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:56 PM

    @Fiona Fitzgerald: no Fiona, they weren’t. Dumb comment

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    Mute Richard Fogarty
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:01 PM

    It was Christmas Eve babe…

    37
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    Mute Clear And Graphic
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:50 PM

    No doubt there will be a VIP section for TD’s?

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:57 PM

    @Clear And Graphic: stupid comment

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    Mute Tommy Roche
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:10 PM

    Wasn’t there a case in the States were a guy had a heart attack, officers who found him smelled alcohol and stuck him in a cell to sober up and the guy died. Family got millions, officers lost their jobs. Know this kind of case would be few and far between, but it would just take AGS or worse, an individual Garda, to be sued before the rank and file said they wanted nothing to do with it. A Dublin hospital had a way of trying to dealing with this many years ago. Storeroom with rubber mattresses on the floor and a sick bucket beside each one.

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:57 PM

    @Tommy Roche: give us the link to that so we can read up

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Jul 16th 2018, 9:22 AM

    @Tommy Roche: idiotic – you are just as likely to get legal cases if you put people in store rooms with a bucket than have a solution – this works in other countries I cannot understand why Ireland has so many naysayers and whingers whenever solutions that may improve the country are made – or maybe it’s just the keyboard experts on the journal I’m reading ….

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    Mute Paul
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:42 PM

    So, are these tanks to be built on to existing Garda stations or converting sections of current stations. Who will man them? Gardai aren’t qualified to offer a medical opinion. Assuming it’ll be medical staff. How about having them in or on the grounds of, hospitals which will take them out of A&E.

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    Mute Mark Walsh
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:15 PM

    @Paul: your missing the whole argument here aren’t you

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    Mute paul kelly
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:45 PM

    @Mark Walsh: He is correct, this is populist nonsense .

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Jul 15th 2018, 11:50 PM

    @Paul: Gardai are probably more qualified to decide if someone really needs serious medical attention or is just too drunk and being nuisance as they have to deal with more drunken people firsthand – also staff in A+E would be able to send the drunk messers on and free up – if you have ever experienced a a busy wait some weekend in A+E you would know full well that there are many many times that the drunks dont need A+E they need to sober up first as suggested. Why is it when good ideas work in other countries do we somehow have to start whinging that it s not good for here ???? Some people are just whingers.

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    Mute paul kelly
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    Jul 16th 2018, 6:19 AM

    @Dave Hammond: Gardai are more qualified to decide if someone needs serious medical attention? Seriously you dont have a clue.

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Jul 16th 2018, 9:26 AM

    @paul kelly: Garda are more experienced than anyone handling drunken situations – and if the system as proposed was adopted it would allow medical staff in A+E to pass on nuisance drunks and get them out of disrupting and clogging hospitals – I’ve lived in other countries where this works mate – which one of us hasn’t a clue ??

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    Mute Liam Lally
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:13 PM

    The first place to start is to close the Dail Bar.

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:57 PM

    @Liam Lally: stupid comment

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    Mute Daithi
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    Jul 15th 2018, 7:03 PM

    They should have one for politicians who seem to think they don’t have to clear their tabs.

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    Mute Peter Coen
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:16 PM

    Drunks in the Dail.Should do away with the pub in the dail.

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:58 PM

    @Peter Coen: and your evidence is what?

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    Mute Mark Walsh
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:14 PM

    About time……a lot of European countries have these for years

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    Mute John Quinn
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    Jul 15th 2018, 10:00 PM

    Change Dáil bar into a coffee shop… Why do you need alcohol on the premises?

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    Mute Jerry Hurley
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    Jul 15th 2018, 7:59 PM

    Cork City Council, should refuse licence too any pub that serves customers who are clearly over the limit. Problem solved, in 20 minutes.

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    Mute Siobhán Ni Mhurchú
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:30 PM

    @Jerry Hurley: person has a few at home before a night out , has a few more in pub . Staff thwn refuses to serve anymore . Person now drunk , problem is not solved is it ?

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    Mute Oiche Fairy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:37 PM

    Brilliant idea, especially the mobile unit which picks people up. It’s really worrying seeing really drunk people passed out, even more so when it’s a woman because there’s a bigger chance that they could be taken advantage of by some evil person..

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:51 PM

    @Oiche Fairy: Lets call them “Paddy Wagons” to be historically correct as well. They did not work then and they might if staffed by medical staff with Gardai to back them up

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    Mute Mark L
    Favourite Mark L
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:35 PM

    Well they’ll probably have to drive themselves to the drunk tank, cos there won’t be any spare gards to take them.

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    Mute Emachine
    Favourite Emachine
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:21 PM

    They should also be charged a fee/fine for their care while incapacitated due to alcohol.

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    Mute dec dunne
    Favourite dec dunne
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    Jul 15th 2018, 7:10 PM

    Should be implemented asap

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
    Favourite Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:29 PM

    When they say it costs the UK half a million pounds, do they compare it to the annual VAT take on alcohol? Maybe we pay more here on drink? Only wondering if the money has already, inexplicably, been spent on other things. Not that anyone begrudges all those TDs raising awareness in the Dáil bar, I hasten to add.

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
    Favourite Whingy McWhingy
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    Jul 15th 2018, 9:00 PM

    @Fiona Fitzgerald: sweet Jesus you talk a lot of rubbish with little or no basis

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    Mute Mark Newton
    Favourite Mark Newton
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    Jul 15th 2018, 10:02 PM

    Anyone who’s on the ground drunk in Dublin City gets an ambulance & it’s such a waste of resources.

    This is a good idea.

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    Mute Ciara Ni Mhurchu
    Favourite Ciara Ni Mhurchu
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:29 PM

    Great idea! Send them to drink tanks instead of A&E. Fine them €500 and put that money into education and rehab beds.

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    Mute Ciara Ni Mhurchu
    Favourite Ciara Ni Mhurchu
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:30 PM

    @Ciara Ni Mhurchu: *drunk tank!

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    Mute Victor Brown
    Favourite Victor Brown
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:23 PM

    I’m sure basic canteen facilities would be enough for most Garda….

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    Mute Tom Lavin
    Favourite Tom Lavin
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:43 PM

    We could make Shane Mc Gowan the commisioner

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    Mute andyearley
    Favourite andyearley
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    Jul 15th 2018, 5:37 PM

    Shane McGowan got a great tune out of the drunk tank

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    Mute James Keogh
    Favourite James Keogh
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    Jul 15th 2018, 10:48 PM

    What about a “Basket Tank” for Politicians with Stupid ideas, I think Minister Ross and the two Kerry cowboys could do with some time in this particular tank.

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    Mute FlyB
    Favourite FlyB
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    Jul 15th 2018, 7:56 PM

    The dumbest fu(king thing I’ve heard in years. People who are pissed are in need of medical attention. What medical training do the Gardai have to deal with this. What a dope.

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    Mute John Madden
    Favourite John Madden
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:26 PM

    @FlyB: Agreed. You need training to distinguish a head injury or stroke from drunkenness.

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    Mute EillieEs
    Favourite EillieEs
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    Jul 15th 2018, 8:55 PM

    @FlyB: where did it state they’d be staffed by Gardaí?

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    Mute Eugene Comaskey
    Favourite Eugene Comaskey
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    Jul 15th 2018, 6:42 PM

    Ah yes, the Silly season is upon us all right. What kind of an Idiot is he anyway?.

    10
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