Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I wish to share my time with Deputies Cuffe and Catherine Murphy.

I agree with the previous speaker and with the Minister when he stated that this motion should have been referred to a parliamentary committee for discussion. This would have provided a better opportunity to tease it out and the exchange of information would have been a better exercise than this present one which is in the old format of both sides shouting across the floor of the House at each other. While I am not totally convinced by the conspiracy theories it would have been a better format than the one we are currently enjoying.

I welcome the regulation relating to off-licences because this is an area requiring tighter regulation. A walk through O'Connell Street will provide examples of small shops and supermarkets substantially engaged in off sales of alcohol and the consequential contribution of that activity to disturbances. Significant alcohol-related disturbances have occurred on St. Patrick's Day in recent years. The off-licences in O'Connell Street cannot be blamed for all those disturbances but it provides an example of where the situation needs to be checked.

The reference to hot food causes me some concern. Modern living is convenience living and people will call into whatever little shop opens up. Most filling stations and local shops now have a hot plate area offering a range of hot, precooked food. I am worried they may be caught in the net. Such services are an integral part of modern living. If those shops were to seek planning permission and face objections from a competitor up the road and then be required to go through the process of an appeal to An Bord Pleanála, it would be a retrograde step and I would not welcome such a move. The hot food element is sufficiently regulated.

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