Mayor Kiely does it again. Jail the beggars!!!!

According to the front page of this week's Limerick Chronicle, our fearless Mayor is jumping to our rescue from another great peril.
He wants new laws brought in to give powers to Gardaí to stop people begging on the streets of Limerick City. He has the backing of the manager of Brown Thomas!
The mayor says that he had been approached by three beggars and found them "a complete annoyance to shoppers and it is time something was done about them".

I'd also prefer if there were no beggars so what's the wonderful cure, Mayor?
Mayor Kiely intends talking to the city manager and the Gardaí to see if new bye-laws can be brought in to prevent begging, and urges the TDs to see if legislation is needed.

Really? To do what? Tell them it's illegal, move on or be arrested? So that they can end up in court and prison (costing over 300 /day and being around criminals and drugs in our already overcrowded prison system).

In Limerick city, we have beggars, some are simply homeless, some are Romanian gypsies, begging while selling old copies of Big Issues, others are homeless because they are addicted to alcohol or another drug.



I ignore the ones I think are simply trying to skive. Others are looking for money for either a bed for the night or their next fix. Usually they ask for 30c for a 'coffee'.
One good way to tell is to refuse to give them money, but offer to buy them coffee and a sandwhich. I don't mind buying a sandwhich for a hungry person, but I don't like the idea of helping them kill themselves with Heroin. The ones who just want to get drunk or high will make some excuse not to accept.
It's unpleasant to see people in such a low state, but they are not criminals simply because they beg, and there are enough real criminals around to keep the Gardai busy already.

A rehab programme would be far cheaper than prison. But that doesn't have the same 'tough leader' quality that setting the cops on them has.

As for annoying? Hey if you want to pass a bye-law, how about you restrict the number of 'Chuggers' (Charity - Muggers) around the place.? They're not good for business either.

Limerick has a bad name, not because of beggars, but because of criminal gangs, the violence associated with it, and the way the media loves to drool over it. (see TV3's crime capitals for example).
Another thing that will damage our reputation is some over -eager populist throwing out hardline policies that drain our taxes, our garda time, and don't actually solve any underlying problem.