Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I find it strange that there are so many aspects relating to alcohol we could and should be discussing but this Bill has been allocated almost three hours in the House, along with the time spent on its drafting and its discussion in the Seanad. The big concern regards alcohol not being on sale in public houses on Good Friday or off-licences being open. Who is it intended that the Bill will benefit? We are told it is for tourists. How many tourists have been put off coming to Ireland because there is a day on which public houses are not open? How many tourists who arrive here to subsequently discover that public houses are closed for 24 hours get the first boat or aeroplane out of Ireland? How many tourists have complained that they cannot access a public house on Good Friday? Who will benefit from the Bill? Are tourists who cannot last 24 hours without buying a drink in a public house or going into an off-licence the only ones we wish to come to Ireland?

Another rationale for the Bill is that the Good Friday alcohol ban is outdated and not in keeping with a secular society. That reasoning does not stand up when one considers the very unhealthy relationship we have with alcohol in this country. The new strategy on drugs and alcohol, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery: A health-led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017-2025, was launched a couple of months ago. In a foreword to the strategy, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Catherine Byrne, set out how drug and alcohol use affect individuals, families and communities across the country and that the expert panel, which conducted a review of the previous drugs strategy, characterised alcohol as the elephant in the room. The new strategy acknowledges that, although legal, alcohol is a drug like any other. The strategy contains many measures that should contribute to a reduction in alcohol-related harm and delay the early use of alcohol by young people. What message is being sent by this Bill? We need more Good Fridays throughout the year.

We must denormalise the drinking of alcohol. I drink and enjoy alcohol. However, it is normal in our society to drink on every occasion. People take alcohol when sad or happy; celebrating a victory or coping with a loss; at first communions, confirmations, weddings, divorces, funerals and sports events; and on mother's day, father's day and holidays. One's grocery shopping includes the purchase of alcohol. I acknowledge that it is argued that public houses being closed on Good Friday means people buy more alcohol the night before but that is part of the normalising culture which suggests that we cannot do without alcohol for one day of the year.

It has been argued in support of the Bill that the Good Friday ban is an outdated practice to have in a modern European nation that respects all traditions and faiths. However, some faiths do not allow any alcohol and I have been to Muslim countries in which alcohol is not for sale.

Another argument in favour of the Bill concerned St. Patrick's Day, which was included in the original ban on the sale of intoxicating liquor that has since been repealed. In view of what St. Patrick's Day has become, could we imagine it without alcohol? There would probably be a massive outcry if there were to be a ban on the sale of alcohol in pubs on St. Patrick's Day. It is very sad that it is so associated with alcohol. Is there any other country in the world in which a public holiday is associated with alcohol? If one walks the streets of certain parts on Dublin late on a normal St. Patrick's night, one will encounter rivers of spilled drink, broken glass, urine and vomit. Most American tourists are quite abstemious in their consumption of alcohol but I have seen and been taken aback by American tourists drinking to excess on St. Patrick's Day. It is as though, because it is normal here to get drunk on St. Patrick's Day, they come to drink in a manner that they would not in the United States. Now that the ban on alcohol sales on Good Friday is to be abolished, we may see more of such behaviour. I wish to acknowledge an initiative taken by Senator Frances Black a couple of years ago prompted by her work with people affected by alcohol. She organised a very well-attended alcohol-free event on St. Patrick's Day in the Gresham Hotel. Similar initiatives could be rolled out to promote it being normal to go out and enjoy oneself without alcohol, rather than simply drowning the shamrock.

There was much commotion before an infamous rugby match between Munster and Leinster on Good Friday a few years ago because rugby fans would not be able to have a drink before the match. It was as though chaos would descend as a result. The vintners went to court and won, which did no service to rugby fans because it was tantamount to suggesting that they cannot go to a match without consuming alcohol.

All Members know that the Good Friday ban has cost vintners dearly. It is also good for business for off-licences the night before and means the Northern Ireland economy does better. If we get rid of the ban, there will be a knock-on effect in that regard. It is all over the place.

We know the facts in respect of alcohol-related harm. Alcohol is a factor in more than half of suicides and in the risk of the suicide and a significant factor in self harm. It is the leading cause of death among Irish men aged 15 to 24. Alcohol-related absenteeism in the workplace is a significant issue. Three people die every day as a result of alcohol-related harm. We know the cost to the health service and justice system. I have sympathy for the gardaí who have to deal with alcohol-related incidents such as assault, murder, sexual assault and anti-social behaviour. There has been an increase in referrals to services but consumption levels continue to grow. Some 92% of those surveyed in an opinion poll commissioned last year agreed that alcohol consumption is too high, while 78% were concerned about the exposure of children to alcohol and 74% supported Government intervention to reduce alcohol consumption and protect people from alcohol-related harm.

The alcohol debate in this country is riddled with ironies. This Bill to abolish the Good Friday ban, which will give people another day on which to go into a pub or off-licence and get alcohol, will be considered alongside the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, which aims to reduce the consumption of alcohol in Ireland. It has been argued that pubs should be treated in the same manner as shops, which are permitted to open on Good Friday. There is a vast difference between the respective services offered by a pub and a shop. I agree that a pub is a far more social atmosphere in which to drink than the increasingly prevalent practice, due to the availability of cheap alcohol, of drinking at home and alone. Some people are in favour of the ban for religious reasons and I respect their views but I support the ban on health grounds.

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I also have great sympathy for people, and especially older people, living in isolated areas in rural Ireland who will be affected by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport's recent Bill. These are the pub customers who go for a couple of drinks to socialise and to get out of the house for some human contact. These are not the people whose drinking is causing accidents. I would like to see the vintners exercised in trying to address that issue and taking a role in sourcing alternative transport arrangements. Maybe, however, there is more money to be made in getting the ban lifted on Good Fridays.

Ostensibly it is about getting rid of an old law. It probably does not make sense to keep to this old fashioned law but I believe removing the law totally sends out the wrong signals and that the Bill is about the vested interests.

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