asked the Minister for Justice whether he will introduce legislation to permit an extension of licensing hours to hoteliers and owners of licensed premises in seaside and tourist resorts over the Whit weekend.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Extension of Licensing Hours.
28.
The answer is "no".
As I have told the House on an earlier occasion the Government would require to see how the provisions of the 1960 Act worked in practice for a reasonable period—that is, in my opinion, for a year or two—before any question of an extension or a change in the licensing hours could be considered.
I should like to ask the Minister to give consideration to this matter of the extension of the licensing hours in tourist and seaside resorts for the coming season and to point out to him that the owners of hotels and licensed premises in these places are in despair because of the Act.
May I ask the Minister is it his intention to interfere with the licensing hours or to make alterations in them in the tourist areas in the summer? Is there no reply?
The Minister has already said "No."