Noel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a pleasure to speak on the Bill and I commend Senator Lawless on his great work on this matter. It is really refreshing for somebody of my generation to see a Bill like this before the House. As a Deputy based in Dublin, every Good Friday I see bemused tourists wandering the streets of the city wondering why every place they want to go is closed. They do not understand why they were not given this information in advance and they do not realise that this country has such a tradition. As Deputy Ó Laoghaire said earlier, it is somewhat quaint and bemusing at this stage, much like how I look back on the holy hour, having been told about it by my parents and grandparents. It is somewhat of an antiquity at this stage that we decide to close pubs on Good Friday on the basis of prior traditions. Good Friday is a tradition, but it can be observed by people on an individual basis. I could still choose not to enter a pub or premises that serves alcohol should I wish to observe that tradition after this Bill is passed. That is my personal choice and I am free to make it. This is what we are all about here and it is in keeping with a republican political philosophy. Ireland is a republic after all. As it matures as a republic, we seem to be concluding that the deprivation of individual liberty and personal liberty is, fundamentally, a bad thing. I absolutely concur with that idea. People should have their individual freedom to choose and, should someone wish to not frequent a pub on Good Friday or any other day for that matter, they do not have to do so.

This measure will have a significant positive impact on tourism, not only in the pub trade in Dublin but throughout the country. Some people tell me it will lead to an increase of approximately 30% on their given revenue in a week. That is a positive. It will ensure that people do not lose out on the night of Holy Thursday either. Right now, they have to close at midnight although staff are often rostered and paid beyond midnight in keeping with their previous working hours from other weeks of the year. Ultimately, I consider this a positive thing.

In terms of the personal liberty argument, individuals already choose not to observe this tradition on Good Friday. The simple point that Holy Thursday is the busiest day of the year for off-licences would tend to steer us in the direction of believing that Good Friday is not observed by a great many people, be they Catholic or otherwise, in this country. That is the reality.

I have heard one or two people mention the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill. It is my considered opinion that this Bill does not stand in contrast to the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill at all. If anything the Bill before the House complements it. It allows for a health consumption of alcohol. It does not ensure that we store up on Holy Thursday or that we bulk buy and, therefore, run the risk of binge-drinking on Good Friday. Instead, we treat alcohol in a normal way. All of us in this Chamber need to consider that traditions evolve. It was the tradition on Good Friday to not alone abstain from alcohol but also to abstain from meat. Nevertheless, our grocers, butchers and supermarkets sell meat on Good Friday and I imagine a great many people consume meat on that day. Therefore, I do not see why we should not apply that same yardstick and criteria to alcohol.

All told, I commend Senator Lawless on the legislation. It is good legislation and I hope to see it enacted before this Good Friday. Bar owners and bar workers with whom I have been speaking are wondering if they will be rostered to work for the day. As any worker wants to plan ahead, they want to plan ahead and would like certainty in that regard. I, therefore, commend the Bill to the House.

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