asked the Minister for Transport and Power what steps he has taken or proposes to take so that houses, now classified by Bord Fáilte as guesthouses, will be enabled to obtain renewals of their intoxicating liquor licence pursuant to section 20 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1960.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Guesthouse Liquor Licences.
3.
I have had this matter examined thoroughly. Under section 25 of the Tourist Traffic Act, 1939, Bord Fáilte have a statutory duty to determine, subject to my consent, the conditions which must be complied with for registration in the register of hotels. To put aside these requirements for the purpose of permitting certain guesthouses to renew their liquor licences would be contrary to the intentions of the Act, and would also be a circumvention of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1960.
The standards for hotels are higher than those for guesthouse registration and hoteliers are also bound by the provisions of the Hotel Proprietors Act, 1963.
It is, however, Bord Fáilte policy to assist in every way possible, including by financial incentives, the proprietors of guesthouses who wish to improve their premises to hotel registration standards.
Is the Minister for Transport and Power not honouring his undertaking given in this House recently?
He is. The Minister undertook, arising from this matter being raised by Deputy Lindsay recently, to look fully into the position with a view to seeing if there was anything he could do. The position is that, apart from the fact that he finds that Bord Fáilte are in a position to offer incentives to those guesthouses to bring themselves up to the standard of hotels, there is nothing further he can do in this regard.
So the Minister has abandoned the undertaking he gave to twist regulations to the full in order to assist these people? He said he would have to act in an ad hoc manner in order to assist them.
One must remember that this matter was raised as an aside on the Tourist Traffic Bill. The Minister undertook to look at it to see if there was any ad hoc action he could take. Having looked into it carefully, he now finds there is not.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary oblige me by letting me know the section of the Tourist Traffic Act he says makes it mandatory on Bord Fáilte to set down the standards for hotels?
Section 25.
Is that not concerned with the function of grading hotels?
Yes. The only way the Minister for Transport and Power could change this would be, if you like, to reduce the grading requirements in order to have a guesthouse or any premises qualify as an hotel. He is not favourably disposed towards doing that.
Could he not create a new grade or could Bord Fáilte not create a new grade of hotel?
There are sufficient grades without creating any new ones.
Is it not now the position that neither the Minister for Transport and Power nor Bord Fáilte — of course the Parliamentary Secretary cannot answer for the Department of Justice — will take action and that these people who are a very high percentage of the 125 will lose their licences next September? Will the Government stand by and see this happen?
It is wrong for the Deputy to suggest that a group of 17 or 18 guesthouse proprietors can be looked on as a high percentage of 125.
I do not know the actual percentage but is the Parliamentary Secretary now stating that Bord Fáilte, in its mandatory function of grading hotels, is entitled to alter the statutory definition of hotels in the Intoxicating Liquor Act?
No.
Then these are hotels and it is mandatory on Bord Fáilte to register them as hotels in whatever class they choose. As I said yesterday afternoon, and I want the Parliamentary Secretary to know it, I am glad to have this information that it will become mandatory on them from other sources.
Am I to assume from the Parliamentary Secretary's statement that objections will not be offered to the renewal of these licences at the next annual licensing session in September? Am I right in assuming that the recent statements were issued by way of warning to guesthouse proprietors to, so to speak, put their house in order for next year? I got the impression that no action was being contemplated this year but that warnings were being issued so far as the 1969 licences were concerned?
What Deputy Murphy is assuming, arising from the reply, is not correct. There is a very small number of guesthouses involved in this. All guesthouses which had licences which they procured in various other ways will not be affected. These are licences under section 20 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act——
They are not. They are under section 2 of the 1902 Act and their statutory definition is "hotel".
Their statutory position is that their licence cannot be renewed until they qualify as hotels.
They are hotels by statutory definition.
Are they not ten-bedroomed guesthouses?
We cannot discuss this Question all evening.
They are guesthouses which are not qualified as hotels.
But they have ten bedrooms.
Bord Fáilte has offered every incentive to them.
What do you do with a country mansion that is better than any hotel put up pre-fab in which Bord Fáilte is putting huge sums of money? What is wrong with these?
Will any allowance be made in exceptional circumstances? There is only a small number, 17 or 18 cases, in which the circumstances are beyond the control of the parties concerned, family debts and so on. Surely in such cases some of those will be met at least for 12 months in order to——
The numbers may be small but the complications are great.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary prepared to accept representations?
We cannot accept representations that cut across the Acts of the State.
Bord Fáilte is cutting across the Acts.