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UPDATED: 4.50pm
Gardaí shut down 35 student house parties and arrested five people as part of a police scheme surrounding Freshers Week at the University of Limerick (UL).
The statistics were released today at a meeting of the Joint Police Committee in Limerick.
Gardaí told the meeting of city and county councilors that they had closed “35 house parties” off campus in the Castletroy area since last Sunday.
Gardaí said they found “more than 30 people” at each of the 35 parties and that 70 tickets were issued on the spot, including 45 for alcohol consumption and 25 for illegal parking.
Five people were arrested for public order / trespassing. Two of them were charged by Gardaí and three were reprimanded.
In total, Gardaí conducted an additional 52 proactive patrols in the area, which also resulted in three minor drug seizures.
Thirty ASBO (Antisocial Behavior Order) warning notices were issued during the week-long operation.
The head of the Limerick Garda Division, Chief Superintendent Gerry Roche, said that gardaí was working closely with UL to specifically focus on house parties to try and encourage the public to adhere to public health guidelines around to Covid-19.
Henry Street Garda Station Superintendent Brian Sugrue, who led the operation, said the Gardaí were “trying to keep it under control.”
He said that UL President Kerstin Mey had accompanied the gardaí on patrol to try to remind students of the importance of adhering to public health guidelines.
In a statement Friday, a spokesperson for the UL president said Ms. Mey “strongly urged students to understand their own individual roles in keeping our communities safe.”
“Professor Mey and members of UL’s top management have been involved in nightly walking tours of local housing estates together with An Garda Síochána this week. This is being done to interact with students, educate them on public health guidelines and emphasize a cooperative approach to protect the community surrounding the campus in light of the Covid-19 situation. “
“Through its community liaison committee, UL has developed a community response plan with the Gardaí to ensure that new and returning students can live and learn as safely as possible in the context of Covid-19.”
“A coordinated engagement and education plan has been tailored to ensure that UL and Gardaí staff work together to reach as many students living on campus and off campus as possible.”
The spokesperson said UL had “allocated more resources to An Garda Síochána to increase its capacity to undertake community engagement activities over the next few weeks.”
A “COVID-19 Student Charter” has been developed between UL, the Limerick Institute of Technology and Mary Immaculate College “to protect students and staff at each of the institutions and to make clear to students their personal responsibility in this global pandemic environment ”.
Ms. Mey’s spokesperson reminded students that “action can be taken against [them] through the code of conduct that, by failing to comply with public health guidelines, may be considered to have engaged in conduct harmful to others ”.
“There is no established sanction within the code of conduct for any offense, but the sanctions allowed within the code of conduct include monetary, academic, suspension and expulsion.”
During the first week of the quarter, UL “has not yet processed any complaints involving UL students who may have violated the University’s code of conduct,” the spokesperson said.
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