asked the Minister for Justice whether an area exemption order under the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1927, was applied for by the officer in charge of the Gárda Síochána in the licensing area in which the town of Ballinrobe is situate at the District Court held in Ballinrobe on the 5th instant, and whether the said order was granted; and, if so, what prohibited hours were specified in the order; whether the Sunday mentioned in the said application was the 10th instant and the occasion a political meeting to be addressed by the Ministers for Agriculture and for Defence; if he will state who instructed the said officer of the Gárda Síochána to make the said application; and whether the Gárda Síochána have been instructed to make similar applications for all meetings to be addressed by members of the Executive Council; and, if not, why was this particular meeting selected for the making of such application.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Ballinrobe Area Exemption Order.
The facts are as stated by the Deputy. An exemption order was granted and the hours fixed were from 2.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in respect of holders of seven-day licences.
No instructions were issued to the officer of the Gárda Síochána who made the application. He acted on his own initiative, as he was entitled to do under the Act.
No instructions of the kind mentioned in the last clause of the question have been issued.