Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I have thought long and hard about this issue, and I have come to a conclusion based on the figures available to me. This country has a severe problem with the consumption of alcohol, whether we like it or not. We have one of the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the European Union. In 2006, it was 30% higher than the EU average. A eurobarometer survey in 2007 indicated that 34% of Irish drinkers consumed at least five drinks on one occasion. In comparison, just 10% of the rest of Europe reported such a level of consumption on one occasion. When those people were asked about the frequency of consuming five or more drinks on one occasion, 28% of Europeans stated that they did so at least once a week, while 54% of the Irish respondents did so.

People may exaggerate in surveys, but we can also look at the figures for those people admitted to hospitals with intoxication. Between 1997 and 2002, admissions increased by 76%. Between 2000 and 2005, there was a 135% increase in juvenile alcohol related offences.

There seems to be a misunderstanding of the position up until last year. Night clubs and late bars were legally obliged to close at the same time. It is only because of the lacuna in the law for theatre licences — admitted in a Sunday newspaper by a night club owner — that night clubs could gain an extra hour or two for the sale of alcohol. I understand that people have to make a living, but I have to take into the account the figures that were brought to the Government's attention last year. We asked the advisory committee to look at this in a targeted way over a short period of time and we rushed the legislation through so that we could implement the main recommendations of that report.

Deputy Flanagan's amendment would effectively permit night clubs to remain open until 4 a.m. The fact is that special exemption orders apply to night clubs and the only other vehicle to be used is the theatre licence, of which 76 exist across the country, with 36 of them in Dublin. The remaining night clubs and late bars were obliged to close at 2.30 a.m., with drinking up time until 3 a.m. Premises across the Border that apply to the courts to extend their opening hours do so until 1 a.m. on weekdays and midnight on Sundays. Some 76 theatre licences were granted by the Revenue Commissioners in 2007. As a result of a court case there was then a rush to apply. To date this year more than 150 such theatre licences have been issued, with more on the books. Gordon Holmes's committee strongly recommended that urgent attention be brought to bear on a significant loophole. The increasing use of theatre licences by nightclubs and late bars to circumvent special exemption order provisions was and continues to be a source of serious concern to the Government and the advisory committee which recommended urgent action.

Sections 9 and 10 contain proposals to give effect to the recommendations of the advisory group. In future, holders of theatre licences will be permitted to apply for special exemption orders under the same rules as other licensees. This is a necessary step in order to address problems arising from the increased availability of such licences and to ensure equality of treatment for all premises operating late at night. Deputy Naughten referred to some research that indicated that opening up the licensing hours in other jurisdictions has been shown to be beneficial. The truth is the opposite. We reviewed what is happening in England and Wales, which provides a salutary lesson for those who would liberalise the licensing laws in the hope of reducing anti-social behaviour. Late in 2005 when longer opening hours were introduced, British Ministers argued that the aim of longer hours was to reduce disorder when everyone emerged from licensed premises at the same time. A research report issued by the British Home Office in March 2007 reported that there was no clear evidence that positive benefits had accrued from staggered or better-managed closing times. It stated that there were no clear signs up to then that the abolition of the standard closing time had significantly reduced problems of disorder. The report stated that the evidence from those countries that had moved from strict opening hours to a more relaxed regime, such as Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and Iceland is that liberalised regimes tend to result in higher levels of consumption and more alcohol-related problems of crime and disorder.

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