The video was reshared on his Twitter page by the Kerry councillor, Jackie Healy-Rae.
It features a video of a crowd of people on the Main Street in Killarney singing and dancing last night.
Some men scale a phone box that houses a defibrillator and dance on top of it.
https://twitter.com/Jackie_HealyRae/status/1299992503429537792
In a tweet about the video, Healy-Rae asked, “The government on about giving extra powers to Gardaí to break up house parties, this is the Main Street in Killarney, where were they?”
He later tweeted that, “I’m told upon further enquiry, that 10 minutes after this video was taken the Gardaí has cleared the scenes, so my comment in relation to them and their response for unjustified (sic).”
Gardaí released the following statement to JOE:
An Garda Síochána is aware of video circulating on social media highlighting the activities of a crowd gathered on a street in Killarney last night, Saturday 29 August 2020.
An Garda Síochána does not comment on an extract of audio/ video footage, the timeline and context of which cannot be determined.
An Garda Síochána had resources on patrol in the Killarney District with local Gardaí reporting a large numbers of persons socialising in Killarney over the evening. An Garda Síochána in Killarney were involved in the ongoing investigation of a Fatal Road Traffic Collision and responded to a number of further incidents including the serious investigation into the unexplained death of a male.
Social Distancing and other similar Public Health Guidelines are not Penal Provisions under the Health Act 1947.
An Garda Síochána continues to respond to reports of gatherings and engage with communities with a view to implementing the guidelines issued by the Government and HSE in order to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on our community as a whole.
In supporting the COVID-19 public health guidelines, An Garda Síochána, when responding to incidents, has adopted a graduated policing response based on its tradition of policing by consent. This response is based on Garda members engage, educate, encourage and, as a last resort, enforce.
The COVID-19 Pandemic remains a public health crisis and An Garda Síochána continues to remind all citizens, of their personal responsibility, to comply with Public Health Guidelines and Regulations in order to continue to save lives.
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