Local councillors are determined to tackle the issue of ‘head shops’ and other ‘undesirables’ in Carlow town head on.
Cllr Michael Abbey is leading the revolt against the so-called ‘head shops’, claiming they are fostering an ‘undesirable’ sub-culture in the town.
The shops generally specialise in products related to the consumption of cannabis and other herbal drugs and recent years have seen a number of such establishments open in towns across Ireland, including Carlow.
And a debate on Joe Duffy’s ‘Liveline’ radio show has convinced Cllr Abbey that a harder line needs to be taken to ensure ‘head shops’ don’t start springing up all over the town.
“It emerged on the basis of some of the callers that these head shops are not as harmless as they try to portray themselves,” he said.
“Some of the materials being sold are the same as those that are being sold on street corners, like amphetamines and herbal cannabis.”
Cllr Abbey called on the Ministers for Health and Justice to bar such operations until it could be firmly established that none of their products were either harmful or illegal.
“One gentleman, who was certainly anything but articulate, was asked if he would drive a car after using these products and he said no, he wouldn’t because he wouldn’t feel safe.
“Just because there’s a sign over the door and a light in the window doesn’t necessarily mean that what they’re selling is desirable.
“For a small town we seem to have attracted a sub-culture pandering to an awful lot of undesirability, whether we like it or not.”
The scourge of ‘head shops’ came as a surprise to at least one local politician, with Cllr Jim Townsend admitting that he thought the offending shops were barber shops.
But Cllr Abbey was also concerned by the fact that the new ‘head shop’ in Carlow had opened on a site which formerly housed the Carlow Regional Youth Services.
“There’s a world of difference,” he noted, querying whether a change of use was necessary and if not, why?
And Cllr Des Hurley offered that some of the ‘undesirables’ spoken of included the ‘private members clubs’ which seemed to be popping up around the town, noting one establishment was currently seeking a change of use for their premises to house such a club.
Owners of the public house known as the Brown Street Bar at 1-2 Brown Street have applied for planning permission for a change of use to their basement and ground floor to a private members club known as Atlantis Casino Club.
The main concern among councillors is the lack of guidelines on the establishment and legality of operations such as ‘head shops’ and ‘private members clubs’.
Cllr Abbey called on the council to closely examine the planning implications of such operations in relation to the use of their premises as permitted under the current development plan.
