Teenage discos ‘need tighter regulations’ in interest of child welfare, says alcohol action group

Commercial venues operating teenage discos should be obliged to provide staffing levels to a certain adult/child ratio to improve the safeguarding of young people, a campaign group has said.

Alcohol Forum Ireland (AFI) also argued for male-to-female gender ratios among staff overseeing teenage discos in licensed premises as a further child protection measure.

The Donegal-based charity has urged the Government to incorporate its recommendations in the proposed Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2024.

It said the growth of large-scale teenage discos on licensed premises has been permitted and normalised “without adequate safeguarding or regulation”.

AFI’s chief executive Paula Leonard claimed the delayed passage of the proposed legislation, together with the Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022, has provided the Government with the opportunity to take its concerns on board.

Ms Leonard said very little attention had been paid to the regulation and governance of teenage discos despite the existence of the social events here for more than 40 years.

“The past 20 years has seen these events grow in both number and scale and they have become a key income generation stream for a dwindling nightclub scene,” Ms Leonard said.

She said just one national policy document, published in 2007, had made a reference to the need to mitigate the risk posed to children by teenage discos.

The AFI’s own report, Dancing At The Disco, has highlighted the risks to children attending large-scale discos on licensed premises including management of large crowds of young people in environments designed for adults.

It also raised concerns about the lack of adequate adult supervision as well as risky sexual activity and intoxication from alcohol and other drugs before and after teenage discos.

The report said many professionals and young people identified bus transport to such events as risky.

It also recommends the legislation should contain a requirement for security staff at teenage discos to be garda vetted and trained in child protection.

​The AFI has previously published reports critical of government plans to extend the opening hours of licensed premises and to remove the limits on the number of pub and nightclub licences.

Ms Leonard said she regularly heard concerns from parents and teachers about the health, safety and well-being of young people attending large-scale discos on licensed premises.

The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee, said last week the proposed legislation was intended to modernise licensing laws.

“The proposed legislation endeavours to strike a balance between maintaining strict controls and safeguards in relation to the sale of alcohol, while providing support to those involved in our night-time economy,” she said.

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