Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. I do not intend to make a Second Stage speech except to say that this is a short piece of legislation that supports the thriving craft brewing industry in Ireland. The legislation also helps out a number of other producers of various different forms of beverage whether it is cider or perry distilleries. There are two winemakers in Ireland, which was news to me.

I was motivated to draft this legislation because the brewing industry is thriving and growing all of the time. It can be found in the four corners of Ireland and in various rural areas, which brings employment. There is an anomaly in the licensing laws whereby brewers cannot sell their produce on site unless they have a wholesale licence where they can sell on a large scale. They cannot sell on site. They cannot have visitors, give them tours of their breweries and allow visitors to buy their products. I felt that the anomaly is holding back the industry and the industry approached me about the matter. I have spoken in depth with tourism authorities. Fáilte Ireland wants to create a branded product and cater for visitors to Ireland who are interested in this topic. My Bill deals with the anomaly. My Bill proposes to create a licence where a person can go to the District Court or Circuit Court in order to sell on-sales and off-sales, depending on which one wants, but a person could sell both. The legislation also proposes that if there is a tour, the brewer can have on-sales in the brewery. It is also my intention that anyone who visits a brewery can take away off-sales. Parts of my legislation are very important and we will tease out any issues.

I thank the officials from the Department of Justice and Equality, in particular Mr. Seamus Carroll, for working very closely with me on this matter for more than a year. I also thank everyone who spoke on Second Stage because we had unanimous support in the House. My legislation will not create new pubs or off-licences and is restricted to the actual products that are brewed on site. Let us imagine how it would feel if one could not purchase products on site having visited a vineyard in Italy, Spain, France or, indeed, the west coast of the United States where there are many craft breweries. The industry employs nearly 500 people at present and enactment of my legislation will allow a fledgling industry to flourish. I hope that we can deal with the Bill quickly and it will move on to Report Stage, and then through the Seanad because many of the craft brewers are waiting to expand their premises and create visitor centres, etc. All they need is for the legislation to be passed.