Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 3, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following:“Licence for sale of intoxicating liquor at brewery, distillery, etc.

1. (1) Where a person who holds a relevant licence (in this section referred to as “the applicant”) duly gives notice of his or her intention to apply for a licence under this section in

respect of a relevant premises and, at the proceedings in relation to the application, the applicant shows to the satisfaction of the Court that—

(a) a relevant licence is in force in respect of the premises, and

(b) an appropriate mechanism is in place to restrict the sale pursuant to a licence granted under this section of intoxicating liquor on the premises to persons who have completed a guided tour of the premises, the Court shall cause a certificate to be granted to the applicant entitling him or her to receive a licence in respect of the relevant premises (in this section referred to as a “producer’s retail licence”), unless the Court prohibits the issuing of the licence on the grounds of—

(i) the character, misconduct or unfitness of the applicant,

(ii) the unfitness or inconvenience of the premises, or

(iii) the unsuitability of the premises for the needs of persons residing in the neighbourhood.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Licensing Acts 1833 to 2018, the Revenue Commissioners shall, subject to subsections (6) and (7), on application to them being made in that behalf by an applicant and on presentation of a certificate granted under subsection (1), issue a producer’s retail licence in respect of the relevant premises concerned.

(3) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), the Revenue Commissioners shall renew a licence issued in accordance with subsection (2).

(4) On the issue of a producer’s retail licence in respect of a premises, any other licence issued under the Licensing Acts 1833 to 2018 attached to the premises, other than a relevant licence, shall be extinguished.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Licensing Acts 1833 to 2018, a licence issued or renewed under this section shall operate to authorise the sale on the premises to which the licence is attached, between the hours of 10.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. each day other than Christmas Day, to persons who have completed a guided tour of the premises, of intoxicating liquor manufactured in accordance with a relevant licence on the premises—

(a) for consumption on or off the premises, where the certificate referred to in subsection (1) has been granted by the Circuit Court, or

(b) for consumption off the relevant premises where the certificate referred to in subsection (1) has been granted by the District Court.

(6) There shall be charged, levied and paid on every licence issued pursuant to this section and on its renewal, a duty of excise of €500.

(7) A licence shall not be issued or renewed by the Revenue Commissioners under this section unless a tax clearance certificate has been issued to the applicant in accordance with section 1094 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 and such tax clearance certificate has not been rescinded under subsection (2A) of that section at the time of the issue or renewal, as the case may be.

(8) A person who sells intoxicating liquor, for the sale of which he or she is required to take out a licence under this section, without taking out such a licence, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a Class A fine.

(9) A person who holds a licence issued under this section and who contravenes the terms of the licence or sells intoxicating liquor otherwise than he or she is authorised by the licence shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a Class A fine.

(10) In this section—

“brewer of beer for sale licence” means a licence for the manufacture of intoxicating liquor to be taken out annually pursuant to section 49 of the Finance (1909-1910) Act 1910 by a brewer of beer for sale;

“Court” means—

(a) in relation to an application under this section for a certificate entitling the applicant to receive a producer’s retail licence authorising the sale of intoxicating liquor for consumption on or off the relevant premises, the Circuit Court, and

(b) in relation to an application under this section for a certificate entitling the applicant to receive a producer’s retail licence authorising the sale of intoxicating liquor for consumption off the relevant premises only, the District Court;

“distiller of spirits licence” means a licence for the manufacture of intoxicating liquor to be taken out annually pursuant to section 49 of the Finance (1909-1910) Act 1910 by a distiller of spirits;

“maker of cider or perry for sale licence” means a licence for the manufacture of intoxicating liquor to be taken out annually pursuant to section 10 of the Finance Act 1940 by a person who makes cider or perry for sale;

“maker for sale of sweets licence” means a licence for the manufacture of intoxicating liquor to be taken out annually pursuant to section 49 of the Finance (1909-1910) Act 1910 by a maker for sale of sweets;

“rectifier or compounder of spirits licence” means a licence for the manufacture of intoxicating liquor to be taken out annually pursuant to section 49 of the Finance (1909-1910) Act 1910 by a rectifier or compounder of spirits;

“relevant licence” means—

(a) a brewer of beer for sale licence,

(b) a distiller of spirits licence,

(c) a maker of cider or perry for sale licence,

(d) a maker for sale of sweets licence, or

(e) a rectifier or compounder of spirits licence;

“relevant premises” means a premises to which—

(a) a relevant licence is attached, and

(b) persons are admitted for the purpose of a guided tour of the premises.”.

Committee members will be aware that on Second Stage the Government agreed not to oppose this Bill on the basis that a number of amendments would be tabled on Committee Stage in order to ensure that there would not be any unforeseen or intended consequences on the legislation, as initially published. It was made clear that, in particular, the granting of a licence by the Revenue Commissioners would be conditional upon the presentation of a court certificate, which members will be aware is the normal procedure applicable to retail sales.

I am very keen to ensure that we can advance this piece of legislation this morning and, as Deputy Kelly has said, that we can proceed to the appropriate next Stages with an objective in mind that we would have matters completed over the next few weeks, which would facilitate an early commencement.

Amendment No. 1 contains the Government's principal proposals.End of Take

It will replace section 1 of the original Bill in its entirety. Subsection (1) provides for the granting of a court certificate to an applicant who is the holder of a manufacturer's licence in respect of manufacturing premises to which persons are admitted for the purposes of a guided tour of the premises.

The court will grant a certificate to the applicant in respect of the premises on being satisfied of a number of things. First, the court will need to be satisfied of an appropriate manufacturing licence being in force in respect of the premises. Second, a system will need to be in place to restrict retail sales to those who have visited the premises and to those who have participated in a guided tour of the premises unless it prohibits the issuing of the licence on a number of other grounds, which are already known in legislation, being the character, the misconduct or the unfitness of the applicant, the unfitness or inconvenience of the premises in issue or the unsuitability of the premises for the needs of persons residing in the neighbourhood. This provision, which will be known to members, is based on section 28 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2000 which governs the grant of retail licences. I draw members' attention to the fact that, unlike section 18, there is no need to extinguish an existing licence for the purposes of obtaining a licence under this legislation.

Subsection (2) provides that the Revenue Commissioners shall, on presentation of the court's certificate, issue the licence in respect of the premises concerned while subsection (3) provides for the renewal of the licence. All retail licences for the sale of intoxicating liquor of any description are subject to an annual renewal process.

Subsection (4) provides that where a retail licence is issued in respect of the premises any other licence, apart from the manufacturer's licence, shall be extinguished. This corresponds with section 1(4) of the original text of the Bill, the view being that this will discourage holders of public house licences that may have an on-site brewery from applying for the licence or feeling that they have the need to apply for the licence, as they will have a public house licence in any event.

Subsection (5) provides that the licence issued under this section will permit the sale of intoxicating liquor products manufactured on the premises between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day of the year, and this has regard to recently passed legislation. It also provides that the supply of the products will be for visitors who have participated in a tour of the premises. Where the court certificate has been granted by the Circuit Court, the products may be sold for consumption on or off the premises and where granted by the District Court, the products must be consumed off the premises.

Subsection (6) provides for excise duty of €500 at the request of the Revenue Commissioners, which is in line with other excise licences, and subsection (7) imposes the standard requirement for the applicant for a retail licence to have a current up-to-date tax clearance certificate.

Subsections (8) and (9) make provision for the offences. In subsection (8), it shall be an offence for a person to sell intoxicating liquor, for the sale of which a licence is required, without such a licence and subsection (9) corresponds with the original text. Subsection (10) contains the required definitions and I draw attention to the definition of the court. It means the Circuit Court if the applicant intends to sell products produced on the premises for consumption on or off the premises. If the intention is to sell products for consumption off the premises, an application may be made to the District Court.

I will deal with the other amendments when Deputy Wallace moves his amendments Nos. 2, 3 and 5.