As Senators will have noted, the intention of this Bill is to enable Bord na Móna to provide facilities for the sale of liquor at some of their turf camps. It is intended to permit the board to sell beer and stout to their workers at such of their camps as are situated at a distance from suitable licensed premises. Senators are, no doubt, aware that most of the bogs to be developed, under the scheme which was outlined in the White Paper circulated in connection with the Act recently passed, and, indeed, many of the bogs at present developed by the board, are in isolated areas. It is desirable that the camps should adjoin the bogs in all cases. It has been found by experience that the lack of facilities for obtaining refreshment and recreational opportunities which are usually available at centres of population imposes a real hardship on men living in those isolated camps. That position is likely to be intensified as these camps are established in more remote localities. As Senators can well imagine, community life of itself is irksome to most of the workers and we think that everything should be done to provide for their ordinary needs. Particularly during the harvesting season, their work is very heavy and it is unreasonable to ask men who have done hard work from dawn to dark on a turf bog during the harvest season, to walk four or five miles, or more, for a drink at the end of the day. The provision of these facilities will be a considerable contribution to the contentment of the workers concerned.
I would like to make it clear that the powers which the House is asked to confer on the Minister for Industry and Commerce by this Bill will not be used at random. I indicated in the Dáil that it will be a condition of the grant of a licence to the board or to an officer of the board to sell drink at a turf camp, that the camp should be situated at a distance from a suitable licensed premises. If there is a suitable licensed premises within a radius of, say, two miles from the camp, then a licence will not be given. It is not desired that there should be a conflict with existing private trading interests. There was a suggestion that the sale of drink in the camps should be let by contract, that private trading firms should have the opportunity to obtain that business. I did not agree and would, in fact, strongly oppose any such suggestion. I think it is desirable that, if there are canteen facilities provided within the boundaries of the camp, they should be provided by the board through its officers, under conditions which they think it reasonable to impose, and that the element of private trading for private profit should not be introduced. If the licences for the sale of drink were let out by contract and private firms operating for private profit were engaged in the businss, their concern would be to sell as much as possible and make the business as profitable as possible. I think it is far better that, if facilities have to be provided, they should be provided by the camp authorities under such restrictions as they think will not conflict with the maintenance of proper conditions in the camp and the general welfare of the workers.
Arrangements will be made to ensure that the general conditions applying to the licensed trade in the locality, including the hours during which liquor may be supplied, will be observed. These hours will not be exceeded, but may be less than the hours during which licensed premises may open. It is the intention of the board to confine the facilities at their camps to the sale of beer and not to extend them to the sale of spirits; and, generally, to make provision as limited as, in their opinion, will serve the purpose they have in mind.
The device which the Bill provides for the issue of licences to the camp superintendent or canteen manager employed by the board effectively secures that there will be no proprietary interest in the licence. It will be held by the board's officer ex officio so long as he is in charge of the camp or canteen. If he loses that post for any reason; if he is disemployed, promoted or transferred to some other position in the board's service, then the licence issued to him will be cancelled and another licence will be issued to his successor. In that way, no proprietary interest whatever will be created. When the bog becomes exhausted and the camp can be closed, the licence can be cancelled, also, without difficulty.
The procedure adopted in this Bill is based somewhat upon the precedent of the Act passed here to permit of the sale of intoxicating liquor at airports. Under that Act, licences are issued by the Revenue Commissioners on the certificate of the Minister for Industry and Commerce. That is the device adopted here. The effect of that device is to change the procedure set out in the Licensing Acts for the issue of licences, but otherwise it is intended that this Bill will form part and parcel of the whole licensing code. The intention would be that no person, other than those resident in the camp, would ordinarily be served with liquor at the camp canteen, but an exception might be made in the case of officials of the board going to the camp for supervisory purposes or other persons attending at the camp, in the company of officials of the board, for business purposes. Ordinarily, however, sales will be permitted only to residents of the camp——