THE problem of underage drinking in Strabane is being aggravated by parents who choose to buy their children alcohol, a local off licence owner claimed this week.
Licensee of Christy's Bar and Off Licence Raymond Barr made the revelation following the recent launch of an underage drinking crackdown by the Federation of the Retail Licensed Trade (FRLT).
FRLT Chief Executive Stephen Kelly wrote to 1,000 publicans across the north to ensure they are doing all within their power to prevent underage youths accessing drink.
In the letter, Mr Kelly reminded licensees that anyone caught purchasing alcohol for a minor could face six months in prison.
This however doesn't appear to be deterrent enough in Strabane according to Mr Barr, who told the Strabane Chronicle that older people supplying drink to youths is a regular problem faced by both himself and his staff.
He said: "It is something I have raised with publicans in the town on a number of occasions, but the question remains, how do you combat it? When someone of a legal age comes in and orders drink, even when you know in your heart of hearts where it is going, what are you supposed to do? While it is isolated, there have been occasions when parents have come in to the off licence and purchased alcohol for their underage children. It makes the problem impossible to police," Mr Barr said.
Commenting on what mechanisms he has in place to tackle young people looking to purchase drink, Mr Barr said the only avenue open to him was the common sense approach.
"If someone looks too young, we ask them for ID. If they present ID and we suspect it's fake they are refused. It is something we take very seriously," he said.
Asked whether more could be done to prevent the spiralling problem of drinking among young people, the Christy's licensee admitted it was a major issue and one parents needed to play a bigger role in combatting.
"A lot of the underage drinking in Strabane is being done on the streets and the Water Wall is an ongoing problem. At the weekends up to 30 people can congregate there and a third of them might be underage. So what I would like to see is more parental control, because there is only so much we and the legislative bodies can do. I would ask what are the parents doing when their children are out drinking or coming home smelling of drink? I would definitely urge more parental control and responsibility," he said.
Mr Barr said that regular meetings between local publicans and possibly even Strabane District Council could go some way to curbing the problem.
"One directive the council were looking at was introducing was different colour bags for each off licence, so if someone underage was spotted drinking, it would be easy to pinpoint where they got it. It was one idea I thought could work and one that potentially could help solve the problem.
"I also feel that monthly meetings between publicans and the other relevant bodies should be held. People seem to believe that the buck should stop with the publican and I don't think that is fair, particularly if we are doing all within our power. At least if we met monthly, we could monitor the problem and possibly come up with ideas on solving it," he said.
