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THE ongoing war against booze has seen another
executive minister enter into the fray to make sure the Northern Ireland
government combats any sense of fun. The days of stumbling, jolly-faced from your
local boozer, or having a cheerful can of cheap beer from a blue carrier bag in
your local park, are now numbered.
With bans on boozing spreading everywhere, minister of
just us, sorry we meant Justice, David Ford has announced that the PSNI are to
have the power to fine you £40, if your deemed to be drunk. If you’re
disorderly too, the fine is doubled…
Of course we have yet to see the definition of
‘drunk’. Is it going be enforced without fear or favour? Will the gates of
Ulster Rugby’s Ravenhill have police officers waiting with pads of fine notices
as the rugby drunks emerge, and will ‘half cut’ GAA and soccer fans be targeted
by overzealous offers as they emerge from Casement Park and Windsor Park.
Will we see the Odyssey targeted, night clubs stalked
and Belfast’s Golden Mile targeted?
Of course, Mr Ford’s rationale is that it costs a lot
to take a first offender to court, so slapping him or her with a quick fixed
penalty is an easy way to address this.
However, there may be difficulties. Will someone at a
certain level of drunkenness be able to recall their name, let alone their
address? Will the police officer be trained to determine whether the apparently
inebriated person have an illness that makes the person appear drunk. Will
David Ford claim environment minister Alex Attwood’s crown as ‘minister of no
fun’, or is social development minister Nelson McCausland gunning for that
role.
What is apparent is that political parties who are not
known for their policies of abstinence and temperance are those talking about
alcohol restrictions.
With the supposed consensual coalition that is the
Northern Ireland executive, have SDLP and Alliance morphed into mini-DUPers?
Are they now implementing a policy that would have been associated with the
famous Paisley description of alcohol being the ‘devil’s buttermilk’?
Are these populists moves in reaction to calls for
alcohol restriction? It all depends what question is being posed. “Do you
oppose public drunkenness?” The answer is invariably “Yes” thus gaining a few
extra votes along the way. “Do you enjoy an occasional drink” “Yes” being the
sensible answer…IT’s all about the question behind the rhetoric.
Alcohol is a scourge on our health services, as Edwin
Poots in his Health Minister frequently reminds us, and booze companies are
always telling us to “enjoy [insert name of tipple here] responsibly” And,
therein lies the rub dear reader. After a week listening to the tortuous ‘me
too’ games of our executive ministers there is no chance of any sane individual
drinking responsibly!