Drink-spiking awareness campaign for Kildare

The Safer Communities programme of the South Western Regional Drugs & Alcohol Task Force (SWRD&ATF) teamed up with Maynooth University Student Support services, Maynooth Community Council and local Gardaí to reconnect with the 2022 drink-spiking awareness campaign.

The programme is operated under the Department of Justice and Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and is supported by the Union of Students in Ireland, while building on the local work conducted with alcohol retailers across Maynooth in rolling out the 'Ask for Angela' campaign.

This is against the backdrop of a number of suspected spiking incidents across County Kildare and informed by Dept of Justice and An Garda Siochana’s collation of data on reported incidents around spiking nationally.

As outlined by Fine Gael TD Josepha Madigan, out of 147 reported incidents of spiking since January 2021, 66 were drink related, while 60 were needle related.

21 incidents were listed as 'unspecified.'

Organisers behind the programme have said: "Community awareness is a key feature of the Safer Communities program, and working to ensure information on alcohol related harms are accessible and targeted at those that drink alcohol regularly, as well as the not so regular as those that are celebrating over the Christmas period and may be more at risk of alcohol related harm given the potential with increased spiking opportunities over the Festive season.

"The purpose of the campaign is to highlight that spiking is a serious crime, with a potential three-year prison sentence, while also generating an awareness of some of the possible signs and symptoms to watch for with key action points on how to get help for yourself or friends that you think may have been spiked."

The group added that a 'victim-led approach is key' and anyone who suspects that they may have been a victim of spiking is urged to report it to the Gardaí and/or local support services.  

The campaign includes some indicators that point to the possibility that your drink has been spiked, while also identifying some of the physical signs in a person’s behaviour or body language, such as:

• You may feel unusually drunk
• Your vision may become blurred, you may feel dizzy and/or nauseous
• You may have difficulty speaking or keeping your balance
• You may have an unusually long hangover the next day, or gaps in your memory

Kildare hospital says its emergency department is ‘under significant pressure’

Statement

The campaign also includes measures to take to help yourself or a friend you think has been spiked including to:

• Tell a bar manager, bouncer or member of staff or 'Ask for Angela'
• Stay with them and keep talking to them
• Don’t let them go home on their own
• Don’t let them leave with someone you don’t know or trust
• In an emergency, call 999

For further information, you can contact Community Harm Prevention Coordinator with the SWRD&ATF and Safer Communities, Steven Joyce, on 087 921 7970. 

If you have been affected by this article, you can find resources to help you by emailing Samaritans Ireland at jo@samaritans.ie or by ringing 116 123. Additionally, you can visit the Rape Crisis Centre at drcc.ie.