A student street party in Limerick was “beyond acceptance” and was a slap in the face to people who were ill in hospital and to frontline workers trying to save lives, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris has said.
Most students were abiding by the public health restrictions, he told Newstalk’s Lunchtime Live show. He said he would hate for them to be “tarred with the same brush” as those who were involved with the incident.
The party was “an attack on our national effort”, he added.
Videos on social media showed a large crowd of revellers in the Castletroy area of the city on Tuesday night.
Three people were arrested after gardaí broke up the party. One has since been released without charge.
Gardaí also issued approximately 50 fixed payment notices for Covid-19 regulation breaches.
The incident was being taken “extraordinarily seriously” by gardaí and college authorities and more actions would follow, Mr Harris warned, “up to and including expulsion.”
The Minister said he had spoken with the president of the University of Limerick on Tuesday night, but that the people he felt were the most angry were other students who felt let down.
Students signed a code of conduct when they went to university and if they breached the college and public health regulations then there would be serious consequences.
“Let this be a message across the country.”
There was no doubt the University of Limerick would take strong disciplinary measures, he said.
Mr Harris pointed out that the students involved were adults who had a right to choose where they live, but they had an obligation to obey the law.
Local outrage
Limerick Fine Gael TD Kieran O’Donnell described the street party as unacceptable at any time, but particularly during the pandemic.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Mr O’Donnell said there had been “general mayhem” in the relatively confined area.
It had been inappropriate to see such large numbers congregating, it was “irresponsible behaviour” in terms of public health and was “wholly unacceptable.”
This is just by my home in Casteltroy, Limerick! pic.twitter.com/ftqQEEMzph
— Mostafa Darwish (@eldarwish90) March 2, 2021
Local radio station Limerick Live 95 also spoke with a resident of the Castletroy estate who said he and his housemate called gardaí.
The resident said such parties frequently happened at weekends, but the party on Tuesday commenced at 2.30pm with “10 to 20 students”.
He had thought the party would stop after a few hours, but by 6.30pm the numbers had increased to “about 100” and he thought not all were UL students.
Some appeared to be as young as 15, he said. Many houses in the area were rented by students who usually held parties in their backyards, not on the street. He and his housemate had become concerned and called the gardaí who arrived at 7.32, he said.
Covid testing
Meanwhile, a senior Government official has appealed to any young person who “slipped up” and attended the street party to come forward for Covid-19 testing if they have concerns.
Liz Canavan, assistant secretary at the Department of the Taoiseach, said it would not be fair to generalise following the scenes as most young people were adhering to public health measures.
Speaking at Government Buildings, Ms Canavan said: “It would be easy to generalise but it wouldn’t be fair and it wouldn’t be accurate.
“The majority of young people are doing great and they have missed out on a lot.
“If you have slipped up and were part of last night’s events, the best thing you can do is come forward for Covid testing.”
University pleas
Following the coverage of Tuesday night's incident, the Irish Universities Association (IUA) has urged students to abide by Covid-19 guidelines.
The IUA condemned the minority of students in UL who flouted restrictions, calling their behaviour "unacceptable", while commending the "ongoing compliance of the vast majority of students".
The group, which represents UL, NUI Galway and University College Cork, among others, said the universities are "united in their condemnation of such actions by a small minority of the student population".
"Our universities understand and share the frustration of students and of all society in this prolonged period of restrictions," a statement from the IUA said.
"We also stand with and support those working on the front line to care for those affected by Covid. The dedication of our own staff who continue to support higher education as an essential service is also fully recognised and appreciated.
"All the universities are continuing to work hand-in-hand with student representative bodies to appeal to students to continue to stick to the guidelines both on and off-campus."
"Recognising the serious implications for our students, we affirm that failure to do so will result in appropriate disciplinary action being taken in accordance with Codes of Conduct for students," it added.
