Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegation for their presentation. I represent a fairly rural area in Sligo and north Leitrim. Sligo is a fairly big town but much of the area is rural. I am very conscious that a number of pubs and off-licences have closed over recent years. We spoke briefly about the social implications of pubs serving drink. I also see a social benefit in having a bar in a rural area and it is a great loss when a local bar is closed. Many rural folk may go down to the pub once a week to have a few pints, meet their neighbours and have a chat. If that pub closes, often those people will not go out.

It might be an over-simplification to hope that a reduction of 1% or 2% in excise duty rates, if it were envisaged, would change the situation dramatically. Surveys have shown that people do not have enough disposable income at the end of the week and they have to make tough choices. Increasingly, people are choosing not to go to the pub or to the off-licence. It is quite understandable that if a person wants to buy a bottle of gin or wine, they will go to wherever they can buy it cheapest. In my view that is rational and logical. How does the number of licences per capita in Ireland compare with international figures?