'No repeat' of Dublin crowds at Kerry bars, say gardaí
Gardaí carried out hundreds of checks on restaurants, bars, and hotels in Kerry's major tourist towns and, despite large numbers out and about, found “nothing like the scenes recorded in Dublin”.
A senior garda also said public order and other issues were in line with reports from this time last year, too.
Superintendent Dan Keane of the Kerry Garda Division said the level of compliance among hotels and bars in Kerry was "extremely high" when it came to social distancing and other requirements.
This is in stark contrast to the pictures that emerged from Dublin last weekend which showed huge crowds on streets, drinking and not observing social distancing.
Some 468 checks were carried out in Kerry towns, including Kenmare, Killarney, Dingle, Tralee and Listowel.
While there were large crowds out, there was no repeat of the scenes from Dublin, Supt Keane said. He advised people to be cautious in returning to bars.
"Personal responsibility has to come into all of this and individuals should remove themselves from crowded settings," Supt Keane said.
Bars won't get away with skimping on the requirement to serve substantial meals, he also said on Radio Kerry.
While gardaí would prefer to engage and explain to any non-compliant licensed premises in the hope of persuading them to adopt better practices, those persistently breaching regulations would find their licence objected to when it comes to renewing it later this year.
Normal levels of policing are returning, too. There were 18 public order incidents reported, which was on a par with this time last year, and 12 assaults, some of which were serious but non were life-threatening.
Domestic incidents were up, with 12 incidents recorded as against seven last year. There were two arrests for drink-driving, and five drug-related arrests.
