Gardaí attended 16 incidents at Mayo General Hospital’s Accident and Emergency department during an 18-month period, according to a senior member of the force in Mayo.
However, there seems to be a discrepancy in the figures, the Mayo Joint Policing Committee found out this week.
According to Superintendent Pat Diskin between January 1 2011 and June 30 2012 gardaí attended 16 incidents at the hospital where many arrests were made which resulted in fines and suspended prison sentences.
However, Cllr Gerry Coyle disputed the figures saying the committee was told by the HSE on a previous occasion that 59 serious incidents within the hospital system in 2011 were reported with gardaí attending 25.
According to Cllr Coyle someone being drunk and disorderly and a complete “lout” should be treated as a “lout”.
“It’s different to being drunk in a pub. You wouldn’t be let into a pub. People behind desks [at A&E] are being accosted by louts,” he said.
County manager Peter Hynes said he would ask the HSE to sit down with the superintendent to discuss the figures.
