Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

The trouble with this version of history is that it is demonstrably false. Outside of Dáil Éireann one could call it a lie. Inside the House, one is restricted to describing it as a wilful misrepresentation of the facts, promoted in order to conceal the truth and save face. The proposals of the Commission on Liquor Licensing in regard to café bars were designed simply to allow for new small pubs. It said that: "The current requirement to extinguish an existing on-licence should not apply where the premises for which the licence is sought does not exceed a maximum total floor area of 130 sq. m." Launching the report, the Minister stated:

I very much welcome the commission's proposal for the creation of a new 'small premises' licence for new entrants to the licensed trade. Applicants for such a licence would no longer be required to 'extinguish' an existing licence [the Minister is now presenting this to us as a new idea] but rather to pay an appropriate fee to be determined by the Minister. The commission believes that smaller premises which are owner occupied and managed will provide an atmosphere and ambience that encourages moderate social consumption of alcohol rather than the excessive consumption and binge drinking that has become so common in recent years. This accords with my own long-held view that while existing quantitative restrictions have served to control the number of premises, they have contributed to the development of very large drinking establishments which create noise and nuisance for local residents and make compliance with and enforcement of the licensing laws much more difficult.

At no stage in its consideration of the need to facilitate the growth of smaller premises did the commission refer to food. There is one passing reference in its report to the fact that "a person can drink a cup of coffee in such premises alongside other people who are taking alcohol". Nor did the Minister in his response refer to a mix of food and drink as being definitive of the café bar. It was simply an exotic name for a new, small pub to be contrasted with the superpub.

The report also states:

While the Commission accepts that 'superpubs' are generally well managed, and cater for an important segment of the market, they also create noise and nuisance for local residents and make compliance with, as well as enforcement of, the law more difficult for licensees and the Gardaí respectively. Moreover, when large numbers emerge from these premises at closing there is inevitably an increased risk of public disorder.

. . . The Commission, however, feels it incumbent upon it to endeavour to lay down some methods whereby that situation can be improved.

The commission made a specific recommendation, No. 42, that the definition of "bar" should reflect a clear distinction between the services provided at bars and restaurants. However, the Minister now proposes to eliminate that distinction and to combine the two on small premises, while attributing the concept to the commission. The Minister will have to read the report again.

In his address the Minister stated:

As regards the creation of a café bar licence, this was a key recommendation in the Final Report of the Commission on Liquor Licensing. That commission ... concluded that the historically restrictive nature of the licensing laws had resulted in the development of superpubs which, while generally well managed and catering for an important segment of the market, tended to create noise and nuisance for local residents and made compliance with and enforcement of the licensing laws more difficult for licensees and the Garda alike.

The reality is that the proposal is the Minister's and not the commission's, as he claims. At no stage did the commission recommend that small premises, as a condition of their licence, be required to provide food as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink. The idea was the Minister's and was promoted by him alone. Having an unfettered, free-for-all environment in which the market rules represents a core value of the Minister and his party, the Progressive Democrats. This idea bites the dust in an abject and embarrassing surrender to 42 Fianna Fáil backbenchers.

See this speech in context