Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome and support the Bill and commend Senator Lawless and all those involved in proposing it. Tourists come to Ireland at different times of the year and the more we can get in the better. Some are baffled as to why the pubs are closed on Good Friday. I have heard the debates on the drink culture. Members of my family had drink problems so this is coming from someone who has gone through all of it. Whether it is in a pub, an off-licence or elsewhere, unfortunately, a person who has a problem with drink will get it. These people need help. There are many who turn things around and turn over a new leaf. I have great admiration for them. Thank God, some people can go into a pub or an off-licence and they drink sociably. Unfortunately, however, some people cannot do that. We have to be able to separate those types of situations from the spirit of this Bill.

If the Bill is passed, it is for every publican to decide whether to open his or her premises. Publicans will not be forced to open. If they want, they can remain closed on Good Friday in order to clean their premises and allow their staff to remain at home. They do not have to open. There is no compulsion on them to open on any day of the week. Given that fewer people are around, many of the pubs in rural parts of Ireland do not open until late in the evening because it does not make financial sense to open earlier.

We must also realise that this is an Ireland where a lot of pubs serve great food. Ireland is renowned for the quality and service it gives and for its céad míle fáilte.

Many people go to pubs for food and drink no alcohol. In many small pubs that do a small amount of food, there may be no shutters. Without such shutters, a pub has to remain closed on Good Friday.

The Bill is a step forward but it will not mean that everybody will shoot off to the pub on Good Friday because most people work on that day, unlike St. Stephen's Day. Publicans and the Vintners Federation of Ireland are in favour of the Bill. There are fewer pubs now. While there used to be ten or 15 pubs in a town, one would be lucky to find two or three now. The Bill the House debated earlier is, in fairness to the Minister of State, Deputy English, a good one and it may result in pubs that have been closed for some time and that are run down being adapted for use as housing without much of a cost to the people involved. Publicans provide employment and they can still tell their staff that they can have Christmas Day or Good Friday off. I commend the Senators who brought this forward and I ask the Minister to work with them on it.

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