I am in favour of this Bill. Coming from a constituency in which a holiday camp was erected two years ago and speaking from the experience I have gained as to the actual conditions in the locality in which this camp has been established, I have no hesitation in saying that this Bill is necessary to facilitate this type of industry which has been brought to this country. The Bill is designed to give to a holiday camp the right to sell intoxicating liquor to its bona fide residents. Since their establishment here, these holiday camps had to apply to the local court to get an occasional licence to allow them to sell intoxicating liquor within their precincts. As has been stated by its promoter, Deputy Collins, this Bill was the outcome of a declaration made by a learned judge, when an application came before him for the granting of a licence, that he found the law did not permit him to give a licence in the circumstances. Had the directors, instead of erecting a holiday camp, erected an hotel, and if that building was found to be suitable and of sufficient dimensions, the proprietors could have obtained a licence in the courts in the ordinary way.
This Bill proposes to give authority for the issue of a licence for the sale of intoxicating liquor to a holiday camp. It sets out in detail the circumstances in which a licence can be issued. Application must be made to the Circuit Court and the court must be satisfied with the character and fitness of the applicant, with the fitness of the premises and that the camp is conducted in an orderly manner. The licence is renewable each year and, if the proprietors of the concern do not comply with the restrictions set out in this measure, the local Garda Superintendent can state his reasons in court for opposing the renewal of the licence. The proprietors must satisfy the court that they are complying with the law. The sale of intoxicating liquor will be subject to the law as it stands when the Bill becomes law. The premises in which the drink is sold in the camp are to be open to inspection by the Garda authorities. The Bill proposes that the camp must accommodate at least 1,500 people before the licence can be issued.