Noel, a Green Party member of the London Assembly, argues that the meaning and dignity of the national day is being tarnished in the bid to commercialise it.
"I blame the coarsening of St Patrick’s Day on organisations such as Guinness who are turning it into a daylong drinking binge," argued Noel.
"It is great to celebrate the day but to see the ground littered with discarded Guinness hats and pools of vomit is a sickening sight," he continued.
Noel favours shifting the focus of St Patrick’s Day to a genuine celebration of Irish culture such as literature and music.
"It is marvellous that the profile of Irish people has been raised within British society. What we should now focus on is making sure that the focus of St Patrick’s day is on positive change for the Irish and not negative stereotyping."
ENDS