Consumption of Alcohol:

COBH (REGULATION AND CONTROL OF

THE CONSUMPTION OF INTOXICATING SUBSTANCES

IN PUBLIC PLACES) BYE-LAW 2000

WHEREAS the Authority is of the opinion that it is desirable in the interests of the common good of the local community within the Functional Area that certain activities and/or matters should be regulated and controlled and that nuisances should be controlled or suppressed AND WHEREAS the Authority is further of the opinion that it is desirable that the consumption of Intoxicating Substances be prohibited in public places within the Functional Area and that a Bye-Law be made for this purpose.

NOW the Authority in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 37 of the Local Government Act 1994 and all other statutory powers on that behalf HEREBY MAKES THE FOLLOWING BYE-LAW:-

1.This Bye-Law shall be cited as the Cobh (Regulation and Control of the Consumption of Intoxicating Substances in Public Places) Bye-Law 2000.

2.In this Bye-Law, except where the context otherwise requires, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings respectively:-

A."authorised person" means a person authorised in writing by the Authority pursuant to the Local Government Act 1994.

B."the Authority" means Cobh Urban District Council.

C."footpath", "footway" and "road" have the meanings assigned to them respectively by the Roads Act 1993.

D."Functional Area" means the urban district of Cobh.

E."Intoxicating Substance" means any intoxicating liquor, alcoholic drink, drug (other than a drug lawfully supplied by a Chemist/Pharmacy on a medical prescription or lawfully sold over the counter and not requiring a medical prescription) or any other gas, solvent or other chemical or biological substance or combination of substances having or capable of having an effect similar to intoxicating liquor or a drug.

F."public place" includes:-

iany footpath, footway or road in the functional area

iiany highway

iiiany cemetery, church, churchyard or the curtilage of any church

ivany premises, out door area, park or other place to which members of the public have or are permitted to have access, whether as of right, as a trespasser, or by express or implied invitation, permission or otherwise, or whether on payment or otherwise

vany street. Lane, quay, cul-de-sac, square, passageway, alley, bridge or tunnel together with any such areas or spaces as are contiguous with any of the foregoing places.

viany train, vessel or vehicle used for the carriage of persons whether for reward or otherwise

viiany part of the foreshore and any coastal waters within or adjoining the Functional Area

but does not include:-

(a)a private house or dwelling or the garden or curtilage of such house or dwelling only in so far as concerns any activity of the owner or occupier or of a person therein or thereon as of right or with the express or implied permission of the owner or occupier;

(b)any premises licensed for the consumption of intoxicating liquor during the hours authorised for sale and consumption of same pursuant to the Licensing Acts 1833 to 1988 as amended; or

(c)any tables and chairs outside a hotel, restaurant or public house on a public road and which are designated by the Minister (as defined by the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act 1963 as amended) (herein called "the Act of 1963") as being suitable for licensing under Section 89 of the Act of 1963 and in respect of which a licence has been granted by the Authority and is for the time being in force and subject to compliance with any conditions contained in such licence.

(d)any vessel, quay, or part of a quay on which the Port of Cork Company has authorised the consumption of Intoxicating Substances, from time to time and subject to such conditions as the Port of Cork Company may impose.

G.Reference to any statute or enactment shall be deemed to include any modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.

H.Reference to the masculine gender herein shall be deemed to incorporate the feminine and neuter genders where the context so requires and vice versa.

3.(a)To the extent that no provision has been made under an enactment other than the Local Government Act 1994 for the purpose of this paragraph a person shall not use, consume, smoke, inject, inhale or in any way make use of an intoxicating substance other than intoxicating liquor or alcoholic drink in any place within the Functional Area and a person shall not have in his possession such an intoxicating substance within the Functional Area with the intention of using, consuming, smoking, injecting or in any way making use of such intoxicating substance within the Functional Area or of supplying it to any other person for use, consumption, smoking, injecting or in any way being made use of within the Functional Area.

(b)A person shall not consume or attempt to consume intoxicating liquor or an alcoholic drink in a public place within the Functional Area and a person shall not have in his possession intoxicating liquor or an alcoholic drink in a public place within the Functional Area with the intention of consuming it in a public place within the Functional Area or of supplying it to any other person for consumption in a public place within the Functional Area.

4.An authorised person and/or a member of the Garda Siochána may request any person who appears to be contravening or to have contravened a provision of this bye-law to leave the vicinity and move off or to refrain from any such breach.Failure to comply with such a request shall be a contravention of this Article of this Bye-Law.

5.(a)Where an authorised person and/or a member of the Garda Siochána suspects an offence under this Bye-Law has been committed, or is being committed, such authorised person and/or a member of the Garda Siochána may seize and confiscate, without warrant, any substance believed to be an Intoxicating Substance or any bottle or container which is believed to contain an intoxicating substance together with its contents which is in the possession of such person or persons.

(b) an authorised person and/or a member of the Garda Siochána suspects with reasonable cause that a bottle or container in a public place situate in the Functional Area (whether or not in the possession of a person) holds an intoxicating substance and further suspects with reasonable cause that an offence under this bye-law has been or is being or may be committed, then such authorised person and/or a member of the Garda Siochána may seize and confiscate without warrant any such bottle or container together with its contents.

(c) Such authorised person and/or member of the Garda Siochána may destroy or otherwise dispose of as he/she sees fit any Intoxicating Substance or any bottle or container which is believed to contain an intoxicating substance together with its contents at any time after the disposal of a prosecution for a contravention of this Bye-Law or after the discharge of a fixed payment pursuant to Article 8 herein.

(d) On a prosecution for an offence under this Bye-Law, a presumption shall operate (where the prosecution so elects) to the effect that any substance found in any bottle or container material to the prosecution shall be presumed to conform in all respects with the description of the contents given on the bottle or container.

(e) A bottle or container material to the prosecution and which is found not to contain a substance in sufficient quantities to permit analysis shall, (where the prosecution so elects), be presumed to have contained a substance which, at the time of the alleged offence, conformed in all material respects with the description of the substance given on the bottle or container.

(f) A person shall not be entitled to give or lead evidence or otherwise argue for the purpose of rebutting a presumption referred to in Article 5(c) and (d) of this Bye-Law unless, within not less than seven clear days prior to the date of the hearing of the offence, he/she had given notice in writing to the Prosecutor of his or her intention to do so.

(g) The Prosecutor of an alleged offence under the Bye-Law shall not be obliged to have a substance alleged to be an Intoxicating Substance subjected to chemical or other analysis or testing (but may elect to do so) in order to establish that the substance aforesaid constitutes an Intoxicating Substance.

6.Any person who contravenes any provision of this bye-law or who prevents, attempts to prevent or encourages or incites any other person to prevent or attempt to prevent the exercise by an authorized person and/or a member of the Garda Siochána of a power conferred by this Bye-Law or who incites or encourages any other person not to comply with a request under Article 4 of this Bye-Law shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £950.

7.Where a member of the Garda Siochána is of the opinion that a person is committing or has committed an offence under this bye-law, that member may arrest such person without warrant.

8. Notwithstanding the remedies provided for in this Bye-Law, the Authority may, pursuant to Section 41 of the Local Government Act, 1994, serve a fixed payment notice (within the meaning of Section 41 aforesaid) on any person accused of committing an offence by virtue of a contravention of this Bye-Law.Such fixed payment notice shall specify the amount of the fixed payment and the period within which the fixed payment must be paid in order to avoid prosecution and shall be in the general form of the notice set out in the First Schedule to the Local Government Act, 1994 (Bye-Laws) Regulations, 1995 - S.I. No. 360 of 1995 - (or as provided for in any amending Regulations) but subject to such alterations thereto as the Authority may consider appropriate in the case of this Bye-Law.The amount of the fixed payment applicable to the fixed payment notice shall be £50.00.

9.Following the successful prosecution of a person accused of committing an offence by virtue of contravention of this Bye-Law, then in addition to any fine imposed by the Court, the person shall become liable to discharge any costs incurred by the Prosecutor in connection with the Prosecution aforesaid, to include without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs incurred in testing a substance alleged to be and Intoxicating Substance to verify that the substance is an Intoxicating Substance.

10.(a)The authority shall be entitled to appoint a Firm, Company, person or other body (herein called the “Laboratory”) for the purpose of testing whether a substance constitutes an Intoxicating Substance. A Certificate signed by the town Clerk for the time being of the Authority certifying the appointment of such Firm, Company, person or other body for the purposes of this Article of this Bye-Law shall be admissible in Court as evidence of such appointment.

(b)A person accused of having committed an offence by virtue of a contravention of this Bye-Law shall, on request, be entitled to be furnished in a Sealed Container with a sample of the substance alleged to constitute an Intoxicating Substance, where such substance has been confiscated pursuant to the provisions of this Bye-Law.

(c)Where the authorised person and/or a member of the Garda Siochána suspects that a substance is an Intoxicating substance, and where such authorised person and/or a member of the Garda Siochána elects to subject such substance to chemical or other analysis or testing in order to verify that the substance is an Intoxicating Substance, then such authorised person and/or member of the Garda Siochána shall place a specimen of the substance in a sealed and labelled container. As soon as practicable, such authorised person and/or member of the Garda Siochána shall cause the specimen to be forwarded to the Laboratory in the relevant sealed container.

(d)As soon as practicable after it has received a specimen forwarded to it, the Laboratory shall analyse for the purpose of ascertaining whether it constitutes an Intoxicating Substance.

(e)As soon as practicable after completion of such analysis or testing, the Laboratory shall forward to the authorised person and/or a member of the Garda Siochána who has submitted the specimen for analysis, a completed Certificate (herein called “a Certificate”) certifying whether the specimen contains an Intoxicating Substance. A person accused of an offence by virtue of a contravention of this Bye-Law shall be entitled upon request to be furnished with a copy of such Certificate from the Prosecutor.

(f)A Certificate shall be admissible as evidence without further proof, and it shall be presumed that the contents of a Certificate are correct as to whether the substance alleged to be an Intoxicating Substance does in fact constitute an Intoxicating Substance.

(g)A Certificate shall be signed by a duly authorised member of staff of the Laboratory and shall clearly identify (by reference to the label on the sealed container holding the specimen) the specimen to which such Certificate relates.

(h)Upon the prosecution of an offence for a contravention of this Bye-Law, where exercised the testing procedure set out in the Article of this Bye-Law shall be presumed to have been complied with until the contrary is shown.

11.The Cobh (Regulation and Control of the Consumption of Intoxicating Substances in Public Places) Bye-Law 1997 is hereby repealed.

12.This Bye-Law shall come into operation on the 31st day following the making of this Bye-Law by the Authority

Dated the 17th day of January 2001.

Present when the Common Seal of Cobh Urban District Council was affixed hereto.

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TOWN CLERK

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MANAGER

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NOMINATED MEMBER