James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is a good point. The topic of fast food outlets is one that arises often. Frequently, although not always, the issue concerns people consuming alcohol on other premises and then congregating in numbers. This is probably a function of people all coming out at one time onto the streets. People are merging, excess alcohol can have been taken and this can spill over into brawls and assaults and everything else. Senator Ward gave an example earlier of a cafe nearby, I do not know it myself, that stays open 24 hours and happily caters to people. There may be something that can be done in the legislation in this regard. Perhaps another Part or section can be added to address cafes and eateries that may wish to operate on an alcohol-free basis. Perhaps there could be a particular new type of licence or something like that. This might be an option. It would be useful to explore.