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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.
The figures were revealed 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. They issued 70 tickets for on-the-spot tickets, 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 Garda patrols in the area, which also resulted in three minor drug seizures.
LISTEN: 🔊 “We have high-level staff who will be out and about Sunday for the next three weeks with the Gardaí and student unions and we will take any opportunity we have to promote the public health guidelines,” – UL Professor Patrick Ryan
VIA @NewstalkFM | @SeanDefoe 📻 pic.twitter.com/K54Wp2WC7R
– University of Limerick (@UL) September 29, 2020
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 to 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 today, 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. ”
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, 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. ”.
I went out last night to remind students to follow the public health guidelines in partnership with @GardaTraffic. I hope our presence helps to remind students that their behavior in the larger community is directly related to their status as a UL student. #StudioAtUL #Wear a mask pic.twitter.com/yeDJkDGhAw
– Professor Kerstin Mey (@ULPresident) September 30, 2020
Ms. Mey’s spokesperson reminded students that “action can be taken against (them) through the code of conduct that, by violating public health guidelines, they can be considered to have engaged in conduct that is 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.
When asked if house parties had been discovered on the University of Limerick campus, a UL spokesperson replied: “Nothing has been reported at this time.”
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