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Wexford Ambulance Officer critical of later opening hours for pubs and clubs – ‘We’ll be left cleaning up the mess’

Independent councillor and Ambulance Operations Manager for Wexford Ger Carthy.

Pádraig Byrne
© Wexford People

As an Operations Resource Manager with the National Ambulance Service, Indepdent councillor Ger Carthy is all too aware of the role alcohol plays in determining the workload of he and his colleagues.

Any big night out in Wexford town will be reflected in the number of ambulance call-outs and the numbers in the waiting room at the Emergency Department of Wexford General Hospital.

It’s for this reason that Cllr Carthy has major concerns around government proposals to change the licencing laws to allow nightclubs to stay open until 6 a.m.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she has been working “intensively” to get the new laws published, having come under pressure from outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to do so.

However, in recent days, newly elected Fine Gael leader Simon Harris has come under pressure to abandon the plans, with Chief Medical Officer Breda Smyth having voiced her opposition and joined the Road Safety Authority in calling for a Health Impact Assessment on the bill.

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From Cllr Carthy’s point of view as an experienced member of the National Ambulance Service, the push towards longer opening hours represents nothing but an attempt to curry favour with sections of the electorate and publicans at the expense of public safety.

"In my opinion its just bowing to populist pressure,” he said. “It’s alright for Minister McEntee to pander to the publicans, but we’re the ones that will be left cleaning up the mess.”

Cllr Carthy believes that Minister McEntee and her government colleagues have failed to fully grasp all of the implications of allowing pubs to open until 12.30 a.m. seven nights a week, late bars retain the existing 2.30 a.m. closing time and nightclubs to remain open until 6 a.m. with alcohol not permitted to be sold beyond 5 a.m.

"You can be sure that gardaí will have similar concerns about this,” Cllr Carthy said. “It’s something that could have a detrimental impact on emergency services. Resources are stretched as it is to provide a safe and effective service.

"To have nightclubs open until 6 a.m. would be crazy. People will be going from the pub to work. People need to be able to figure out night from day. We’ve had a system in place for years. It's adapted to the times in relation to Good Friday and Sunday opening hours, but this is just a step too far in my view.”

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 27th

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