News
Revised ID scheme to restrict sale of alcohol to children
Tuesday, 24th February 2009
The Civic Alcohol Forum will reveal details today, Tuesday 24th February, of its revised ID scheme to ensure the restricted sale of alcohol to children at the launch of the Only 5 Initiative.Attending the launch, the Mayor, Councillor Gerard Diver said the inclusion of the National Age Card of Ireland to the existing forms of identification, greatly enhanced the scheme and provided greater clarity for those in the licensed trade when seeking age verification from those purchasing alcohol.
The original scheme was first announced in 2006 and has now been enhanced to accommodate visitors to the city from the Republic of Ireland. The “Only 5” initiative is a Partnership project from the Civic Alcohol Forum in the Derry City Council area and aims to create clarity on only five forms of identification that will be accepted by licensed premises when seeking age verification from those purchasing alcohol. ‘Only 5’ seeks to ensure that only those entitled to buy alcohol can do so.
Commenting on the revised scheme the Mayor, Councillor Gerard Diver said: “The original ID scheme was introduced as just one step in the action to address the City’s unjustified image in relation to alcohol. It was designed to make it easier for responsible licensed premises to identify those people who are ineligible to buy alcohol. We are delighted that we have now been given permission to include the National Age Card of Ireland in the scheme. This will now make it easier for visitors to the City from the Republic of Ireland to comply with the requirements of the ID scheme initiated by the Civic Alcohol Forum.”
The ‘Only 5’ initiative continues to re-enforce the best practice standards for licensed premises that means if someone is fortunate enough to look under 21 that they will asked to prove their date of birth with one of five forms of identification. The ID that will be acceptable is a passport, driving licence photo card, Electoral Registration Card, Citizencard or National Age Card
Commenting on the revised ID scheme; Eamon O’Kane Director of Derry Healthy Cities said: “The purpose of introducing an ID scheme was to remove any ambiguity over identification for the purposes of purchasing alcohol. We recognized however that the scheme was Derry specific and that this therefore caused potential difficulty for visitors to the City. The National Age Card is a widely accepted and Garda Siochana approved ID in the Republic of Ireland and we are delighted that we have been given permission to include it in our scheme. Not only does it assist visitors to our City to comply with the scheme but it also provides licensees with help in adhering to legislative guidelines for admission and serving.”
The “Only 5” initiative will be operational within the coming weeks and will be promoted as part of the preparations for Derry City Council’s St Patrick’s Day Spring Carnival celebrations in the City.
