Teenagers should be sent into pubs and off-licences to buy alcohol in an attempt to bring prosecutions for under-age drinking, the head of the Government's advisory group on alcohol has said.
Dr Gordon Holmes said having the Garda send in young people under the legal age to buy alcohol was "not very desirable, but we are left with no alternative".
He said he could see no legal reason why this would not be possible because a test case had already been established in relation to the sale of cigarettes.
In 2006 the High Court held that the use of a 14-year-old volunteer to buy cigarettes in a shop in Co Sligo did not constitute entrapment. Mr Justice Roderick Murphy found the test purchase was not contrary to public policy and was necessary for the protection of children.
Dr Holmes is head of the advisory group on alcohol set up by Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Brian Lenihan. The group is due to make recommendations to the Minister by March 31st and Mr Lenihan intends to bring forward legislation to tackle binge-drinking by the summer.
Dr Holmes told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights that the use of under-cover teenagers would be an "important weapon" for the Garda in bringing prosecutions.
He explained that the Attorney General had advised that tracing alcohol purchased by those under-age back to where it was bought would not stand up in court and it was difficult to get young people to testify because "their mummies and daddies didn't want their cherubs giving evidence in court".
Dr Holmes said he was seeking a meeting with the presidents of the District and Circuit Courts because he believed that inadequate sanctions were being imposed and there were serious inconsistencies in sentencing.
He cited the example of a publican who had been fined €80,000 for 14 breaches of the licensing laws and told gardaí it was worth paying the fines as long as he stayed open.
Dr Holmes said there needed to be a consistency of closing hours across the country as some clubs in Dublin could close at 2am while those just yards away in a different local authority closed at 2.30am.
The group is also examining the proliferation of off-licences which had risen from 274 to 863 in the Dublin area alone in just 10 years. Dr Holmes described this as "extremely worrying" and said supermarkets and petrol stations were now employing people with experience in the drinks trade.
