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On-the-spot fines for being drunk in public

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17 years 7 months ago #7

"Bog_Myrtle":57vlyjtr wrote: If you are drunk in a pub where you are allowed to be drunk then how do you get home without being drunk in public?[/quote:57vlyjtr]AFAIK, it's also illegal to serve drink to a drunk person. So anyone drunk in a pub will only be very slightly so, and therefore just needs to be given a quiet hour in the corner before making their merry, but not drunk, way home.

17 years 7 months ago #8

The Herald has an interesting twist on it:

[quote:3olr5vph]However, the law also means anyone arrested for being drunk and disorderly in a public place can escape a criminal conviction by paying their fine.[/quote:3olr5vph]

17 years 7 months ago #9

So what constitutes being "drunk"? Are there levels of drunkness that are exceptable? Can any Garda accuse you of being drunk and demand the fine or must you be breathalised etc. to back up his/her accusation? Surely there is no way of, within reason, proving that someone is drunk other than one mans word against another.

17 years 7 months ago #10

I find it hard to believe that the Gardai will be draconian about this because they are very familiar with this sort of behaviour and it is not going to disappear over night. There is room for abuse I suppose if a copper takes a dislike to you.

17 years 7 months ago #11

"Hendrixcat":3i44b24t wrote: There is room for abuse I suppose if a copper takes a dislike to you.[/quote:3i44b24t]I don't think they'd regard it as "abuse", but I definitely think that the charge of drunkenness acts as a handy "Get Into Jail Free" card for the pissed-off Garda to play.

17 years 7 months ago #12

I suppose I used the term 'abuse' because I fear the idea of one of the likes of us getting nicked if a little worse for wear on the way home form the pub. There's no way around being intoxicated in public, which I have been on many occasions. There's degrees of it for sure, but the law could be strictly applied to your detriment if the authorities feel like it.
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On-the-spot fines for being drunk in public
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