Cork councillor wants national curfew

A CORK councillor is calling for a curfew to be imposed on all under-17s after 10pm to combat anti-social behaviour.

Fianna Fáil councillor Kenneth O’Flynn who is the son of outspoken TD Noel O’Flynn said that he could not see why “any child under 17 would have any reason to be outside their home, or estate wandering the streets” after10pm.

Cllr O’Flynn is proposing the curfew idea which he says has been proven to work in Los Angeles following increasing levels of anti-social behaviour in his own Cork North Central ward.

According to Cllr O’Flynn local thugs are becoming increasingly brazen and show no regard for local residents or the gardaí. The problem has developed to such an extent that the culprits are evening posting You Tube videos of their exploits on the internet.

One video recorded in the Spriggs Road area of Cork shows thugs joyriding and evading Gardaí as well as starting fires next to people’s homes.

One mother who did not want to be named told the Irish Mail on Sunday, “There have been six cars burnt out around here this year. I have young children and they are terrified by what goes on. They are drinking and then they smash the bottles on the ground, there is drug dealing, you can see them taking the money”.

According to the woman the latest craze is to put firecrackers through letterboxes and in wheelie bins, there have even been incidents where thugs have tried to ignite oil tanks right next to houses.

“The gardaí do their best but they just don’t have the manpower. A curfew is a brilliant idea or they should be tagged like they are in England. Something has to be done, because the parents just don’t care,” she said.

Cllr O’Flynn added, “It is about time we made parents responsible for their children. Parents should know at all times where their children are.

“People are being terrorised in their homes by gangs of youths. I know several elderly people who are afraid to answer their doors after five in the evening. This is a deplorable situation”.

Cllr O’Flynn said introducing a curfew would free up garda time and vital funds for city and county councils who have to spend taxpayer’s money to block up laneways and clean up the aftermath of anti-social behaviour.

He added that those caught breaking the curfew should be fined a minimum €500 which should be imposed on the parents and “taken directly from salary or social welfare payments”.