Some 400 pubs across the State have been prosecuted for selling alcohol to minors in the last four years and 300 issued with closure orders as a result, new figures from the Department of Justice show.
Mayo gardaí were, by far, the most active in prosecuting publicans who served minors. There have been almost twice as many prosecutions of publicans in Mayo Garda Division, 133, than in the six divisions in the Dublin Metropolitan Region, which had 70 cases combined.
After Mayo, the next-highest number of prosecutions taken in any Garda division was in Cork city, with 57 cases.
Under the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2000, any pubs selling alcohol to under-18s, or individuals buying alcohol on behalf of minors, can be prosecuted. On prosecution the courts can order pubs to close, usually for one or two days.
In the four-year period from July 2000 to August 2004 a total of 772 prosecutions were taken against publicans.
In 401 cases, a conviction was secured, and 300 closure notices issued in respect of these convictions. Some 236 cases are pending, 135 cases were dismissed or struck out and 46 closure orders are under appeal.
In 2003, 86 individuals were prosecuted for purchasing alcohol for minors. Gardaí in the Cork city and Mayo divisions were, again, most active in pursuing individuals, with 15 and nine prosecutions secured respectively, the highest of all Garda divisions.
No prosecutions were secured in a number of divisions in 2003 against individuals buying alcohol for minors. These included the western division in the Dublin Metropolitan Region, Sligo-Leitrim, Cork West and Limerick.
The figures were supplied to Ms Roisín Shortall TD (Lab) in response to a series of parliamentary questions to the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell. The figures are provisional because final data are not yet available for 2002 and 2003.
Ms Shortall said the low number of publicans prosecuted in the Dublin area was proof that the will did not exist in the city to tackle under-age drinking. A high level of prosecutions was taken in Mayo because both judiciary and gardaí were willing to tackle the problem, she said.
