It might be time to get Gardaí to tackle drinking at Grand Canal lock near Charlemont Street, councillors say

It might be time to get the Gardaí involved to tackle the issue of public drinking by the canal down near Charlemont Street, councillors said at a meeting of their South East Area Committee on Monday.

People drinking on the street out by the Grand Canal’s Lock C6 and The Barge pub needs to be referred to Gardaí, Labour Councillor Dermot Lacey said. 

“It has become a real problem, and I mean, I’m one of those people who largely believes live and let live,” Lacey said. But it’s impacting people locally now, he said.

It is illegal to consume alcohol on a road or in a public place “within the functional area of the council”, according to the council’s 2008 bye-laws.

Previously, councillors had been fine with a few cans by the canal, and criticised the bye-laws as a consequence of the council’s failure to manage public spaces.

Lacey, in June 2017, said there should be fewer restrictions, “less rules and more manners”.

But nobody at the committee meeting on Monday echoed that feeling.

Fine Gael Councillor David Coffey said the behaviour down by lock was disgraceful. “It’s a law-and-order issue. People aren’t allowed to drink legally on the street in the manner that is happening.”

Gardaí shouldn’t be sending public-order units down there at night to mop up the mess, nor should the council’s waste department need to clean it up either the following morning, Coffey said.

The Gardaí need to be down there from early in the afternoon, he said. “And send everybody away as soon as they turn up with their bags of cans and their bottles of wine.”

Coffey had previously asked the council area managers in June if they could provide portaloos down outside the pub during the summer months “to deal with the issue of people urinating and defecating” on doorsteps.

A report provided to Coffey said the council had no plans to put in temporary toilets there, but that its waste management services division provides regular and extensive cleaning over the summer.

Later, in the meeting on Monday, independent Councillor Mannix Flynn tabled a motion calling on the council and Tuath Housing, the approved housing body that manages Ffrench Mullen House, a nearby apartment complex, to deal with the “massive anti-social behaviour” and “outrageous drunkenness” around Charlemont Bridge.

Councillors had faced the same issues down by Drury Street recently, and in the Portobello area, Flynn wrote in his motion. “Surely, we can apply the same methods here for this besieged community.”

A report provided to Flynn said the council’s area office would liaise with Gardaí in relation to anti-social behaviour and outdoor drinking in the vicinity of the Barge.

It was a recurring issue most summers in the canal area, the report said. “We are engaging with Tuath Housing who are our managing agents in Ffrench Millen House to look at what can be done to address these issues for our tenants.”

Before Flynn, who was attending remotely, could speak to the motion, he lost his internet connection, said Lacey, who noted the report.