Videos circulated on social media showed large numbers of revellers singing and drinking on the streets of holiday hotspot Killarney.
He said: “In a time when we cannot go to watch a football match, when weddings are being postponed along with other family occasions being put on hold, the behaviour seen in our town last night was nothing short of showing two fingers to all those who have put in huge time and effort to make Killarney safe.
A spokesman for the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland said: “The VFI has reiterated its call for the full force of the law to be applied to any pub found to be in breach of guidelines following a number of incidents in Killarney on Saturday night, which involved large groups of people gathering on the streets in contravention of all current protocols.
Fines of up to €2,500 or a maximum of six months in prison will be the sanction if bars infringing social distancing regulations refuse to close for a day.A spokeswoman for An Garda Siochana said: “An Garda Síochána is aware of video circulating on social media highlighting the activities of a crowd gathered on a street in Killarney last night, Saturday 29 August 2020.