asked the Minister for Justice if he has any proposals to update the drink licensing laws in this country in order to remedy the existing operational deficiencies.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Drink Licensing Laws.
14.
Various proposals to amend the intoxicating liquor laws have been made to me by interested persons, some of which conflict to a greater or lesser extent with others.
All the proposals are receiving my attention but because of the pressure of other urgent matters I am not in a position to say what amendments, if any, I will propose.
Would the Minister not agree that this should be one of his priorities and that he should set about amending this antiquated legislation?
I agree that this is important but I suggest this will be very difficult to do. All the submissions I received run contrary to each other because they represent different interests. The experience of the commission set up in 1956 showed that even after meeting they were not in a position to make firm recommendations to the Government of the day because of vested interests. There are parts of the law with which I am very unhappy, particularly those relating to teenagers and drink and occasional licences which are being issued in their thousands and are a cause of concern to many. I agree this is an important matter but I am explaining some of the difficulties facing me. I had discussions on this matter with my new Minister of State this morning and this is an area I would like him to get involved in in the hope that he would be able to help.
Would the Minister not agree that this area of drink licensing might be partially transferred into the ambit of matters to be dealt with by ministerial regulation rather than by legislation? This would make his approach to the matter more flexible.
I would not like to accept or reject what is in the Deputy's supplementary question without giving it the consideration it merits.
Would the Minister consider adopting the same approach to this problem as that discussed in regard to the gaming laws, that is dealing now with teenage drinking and what we call the chicken and chips exemption and dealing with the broader issues later?
That is one way out of it but I have had numerous representations from interested bodies. Restaurauteurs see only their side of it; hoteliers can only see their side and the same can be said for many other interests. I agree that the parts of the law that are being abused can be looked at and I have had discussions about this.
Is the Minister aware of the difficulties experienced in County Dublin because of an anomaly in the law? It is impossible to get a new licence for a premises in a fast developing area——
We cannot go into detail on this.
I would like to help the Deputy but I would need notice of that question.
I will give the necessary information if the Ceann Comhairle lets me. It is impossible to get a licence for a new premises within a mile of a licensed premises.
I am calling Question No. 15.