Roads policing in Ireland

[Dogtrousers]

There seems to be a kerfuffle, about which I know next to nothing.

What I think I know, which may be inaccurate:
A report into roads policing says gardai aren't doing their jobs (speeding, drink driving enforcement etc) Report has not yet been published, but will be. Bits and pieces have been released. Cycling Ireland have released a statement welcoming publication.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0731/1526401-garda-crowe-report/

 

[Emanresu]

Is the theme in the opening scenes of the film, The Guard. Funny in a black humour sort of way.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1540133/

 

[raleighnut]

There seems to be a kerfuffle, about which I know next to nothing.

What I think I know, which may be inaccurate:
A report into roads policing says gardai aren't doing their jobs (speeding, drink driving enforcement etc) Report has not yet been published, but will be. Bits and pieces have been released. Cycling Ireland have released a statement welcoming publication.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0731/1526401-garda-crowe-report/

I'd say they're doing their jobs perfectly by not persecuting people. If you live in an isolated rural area and the only pub is miles away are you meant to not go for fear of being breathelized on the way home.

These are the same sort of 'killjoys' who ruined England with their 'smoking bans' which have caused many a pub to go bankrupt

 

[Alex321]

I'd say they're doing their jobs perfectly by not persecuting people. If you live in an isolated rural area and the only pub is miles away are you meant to not go for fear of being breathelized on the way home.

Yes. Or preferably go in a group with one designated driver.

There are still other people on the roads even in isolated rural areas, who are put at serious risk by people driving drunk.

These are the same sort of 'killjoys' who ruined England with their 'smoking bans' which have caused many a pub to go bankrupt

I would be surprised if a single pub went bankrupt mainly or entirely because of the smoking ban. And it has made them FAR more pleasant places for people who don't smoke.

A lot of pubs have been going bankrupt over the last few years, but there are a lot more causes than the smoking ban.

 

[raleighnut]

Yes. Or preferably go in a group with one designated driver.

There are still other people on the roads even in isolated rural areas, who are put at serious risk by people driving drunk.



I would be surprised if a single pub went bankrupt mainly or entirely because of the smoking ban. And it has made them FAR more pleasant places for people who don't smoke.

A lot of pubs have been going bankrupt over the last few years, but there are a lot more causes than the smoking ban.

Not according to the former publicans I know.

Why couldn't we have had the same situation they had in Germany where a bar could declare itself a 'Smoking Venue' where people who didn't like it were told not to come in if they objected to cigarette smoke. Strangely enough the bar near my friends place in Hanover (smoking bar) is always packed.............................Mind you they are much more enlightened in Germany having recently allowed 'Dutch' style cafes to open along with Spain,Portugal and a couple of other countries (including parts of the USA which started the whole banning of drugs in the first place)

 

[Drago]

I'd say they're doing their jobs perfectly by not persecuting people. If you live in an isolated rural area and the only pub is miles away are you meant to not go for fear of being breathelized on the way home.

Id say yes.

Having delivered more Death-O-Grams for drink driving deaths, the majority to the families of innocent victims rather than the families or the drink driver themselves, I think 24 hours from bottle to throttle is a sensible, life saving rule.

People's right not to be killed or maimed is far greater than the convenience of some pith head to have a swift few jars.

 

[Alex321]

Not according to the former publicans I know.

So how did they measure it?

Most pubs still have outdoor smoking areas, often undercover, and most of the ones I know only get a few people using those areas, even in good weather.

And these figures suggest the smoking ban (which came in 2007) had very little effect on the number of bankruptcies
https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2025/05/27/number-of-pub-closures-over-past-25-years/

Why couldn't we have had the same situation they had in Germany where a bar could declare itself a 'Smoking Venue' where people who didn't like it were told not to come in if they objected to cigarette smoke. Strangely enough the bar near my friends place in Hanover (smoking bar) is always packed.............................Mind you they are much more enlightened in Germany having recently allowed 'Dutch' style cafes to open along with Spain,Portugal and a couple of other countries (including parts of the USA which started the whole banning of drugs in the first place)

It wasn't specifically about pubs & restaurants, it was about all public enclosed places.

They *could* have had different laws for different types of establishment - Government offices, shops, restaurants, cinemas, bars, etc.

But that would have been a lot more complex to implement and would have diluted the intended effect significantly. And while the public may have a choice, the workforce often effectively don't.

 

[raleighnut]

So how did they measure it?

Most pubs still have outdoor smoking areas, often undercover, and most of the ones I know only get a few people using those areas, even in good weather.

And these figures suggest the smoking ban (which came in 2007) had very little effect on the number of bankruptcies
https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2025/05/27/number-of-pub-closures-over-past-25-years/



It wasn't specifically about pubs & restaurants, it was about all public enclosed places.

They *could* have had different laws for different types of establishment - Government offices, shops, restaurants, cinemas, bars, etc.

But that would have been a lot more complex to implement and would have diluted the intended effect significantly. And while the public may have a choice, the workforce often effectively don't.

What about the recent opening of a bunch of 'Shisha Bars'that have been lately , I've seen more than 10 in Leicester. How do these get round the Tobacco Ban ?

 

[Alex321]

What about the recent opening of a bunch of 'Shisha Bars'that have been lately , I've seen more than 10 in Leicester. How do these get round the Tobacco Ban ?

I have absolutely no idea, not having seen one of these, or even previously heard of them.

But from what I can find, they comply by having outdoor or semi-outdoor spaces for the smoking.
https://blacklist-lounge.com/are-shisha-lounges-illegal-in-the-uk/

 

[Dadam]

If you live in an isolated rural area and the only pub is miles away are you meant to not go for fear of being breathelized killing an innocent person on the way home.

My edit to your quote is the way this really should be considered.
100% yes.
Or drink non-alcoholic drinks. Or get a taxi. Or go with a designated driver. etc

 

[T4tomo]

I was brought up in rural area, 1 in 4 nights out you drove and didn't drink. That's just how it was. New years eve usually saw a car being left at the pub and 2 mile walk home, potentially more if you went to an after hours house party on the way home.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of it, it's not the job of the police to choose what they enforce and what they don't.

I've not seen the details but from what I have seen, I think the gardai in question weren't not doing their jobs out of a sense of community spirit. They were not doing their jobs because they could get away with it.

 

[raleighnut]

I have absolutely no idea, not having seen one of these, or even previously heard of them.

But from what I can find, they comply by having outdoor or semi-outdoor spaces for the smoking.
https://blacklist-lounge.com/are-shisha-lounges-illegal-in-the-uk/

There is one near a venue I go to see bands, yes it does have an outdoor smoking area but in winter that is empty but I would bet they're smoking indoors.

The one group of people that the indoor smoking ban has benefited, Those of us who enjoy an odd Joint used to get funny looks when stood outside a pub having a 'toke' but since the smoking ban nobody gives us a 2nd glance anymore.
As for myself I no longer go to the pub far preferring to drink at home, I can get a reasonable bottle of Wine for the price of a Pint the music is better and the company far better.

 

[mjr]

Not according to the former publicans I know.

Former publicans are possibly not the best people to assess the reasons for pubs failing because they may have been mistaken about why their pub was dying, failed to fix the real cause, and hastened their exit.

Why couldn't we have had the same situation they had in Germany where a bar could declare itself a 'Smoking Venue' where people who didn't like it were told not to come in if they objected to cigarette smoke. [...]

That was never national (health law in Germany is mostly a state duty, not federal), hasn't been whole-venue for a long time, and had various restrictions since the mid-2000s, usually including that the smoking room(s) had to be a minority of the bar's space unless the bar was very small, no food could be served, and employees could not be required to serve in the smoking room(s).

We couldn't have had the same situation in England because our health law is national and most would rather protect people who are trying to look after their own health by not smoking, rather than protect some tobacco company profits from exploiting addicts. Smoking and some other harmful-to-others activities probably need to be clearly rejected at a national level, which includes drink-driving and speeding... but governments seem to be much slower to stamp those out, especially speeding, don't they?

 

[classic33]

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of it, it's not the job of the police to choose what they enforce and what they don't.

I've not seen the details but from what I have seen, I think the gardai in question weren't not doing their jobs out of a sense of community spirit. They were not doing their jobs because they could get away with it.

The piece in bold. Usually longer serving officers, leaving others to do their work. But it's "a job for life" once you're in, so it attracts more than it's fair share of recruits that shouldn't have even been to Templemore. Much less made it through.