Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to be able to speak on this important legislation. For some time, the Bill has been going to and fro and there has been much lobbying in respect of it. I have been here for ten years and many other items of legislation have come before the House. Much of the legislation in question, while very well-meaning, has never been enacted. Members debate the legislation in detail on the various Stages, it goes to committee and then on to the Seanad but it ends up not being enacted. Let us consider crime, which is a hugely serious issue. People who have carried out multiple offences are out on bail. They get free legal aid that is paid for by ordinary taxpayers and workers. We passed legislation to provide for tagging and, to my horror, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, told us this week that it has been referred to a working group. This is foot-dragging and it flies in the face of the aim of dealing with issues holistically.

With regard to the drinks industry, I do not agree with my colleague about the Dáil bar. I like to bring visitors and others to the bar in the evenings. The Dáil bar also provides employment. The Deputy spoke about jobs and that we have to look at it holistically, but sin scéal eile.

I am of the view that the proliferation of some types of off-licences has caused a great deal of trouble. Some off-licences that are dedicated to that type of business are run quite well but too many small shops now also have off-licence sales. I listened with interest to Deputy Connolly, as I always do. She said that it is not because a person sees a drink that they want to buy it. However, I am of the view that some investigation is needed in that regard. I feel sorry for the person who is a recovering alcoholic. He or she may go into a small shop to get a loaf of bread, a pound of butter and some milk and is then faced with alcohol right in front of him or her. This person can choose to not go to a pub or a hotel but must go to the shop or the filling station for food or diesel. There is too much of this type of availability.

I also did not agree with the proposals for the Long Kesh-type shutters. That is another draconian measure - it is madness. Who drafted this legislation for the Minister? From where did he get it? I mean no disrespect to the officials in the Chamber but I would love to know who they are. I would love to get into that drafting office some day, sit down for an hour and listen to the comments at teatime. To me, it appears that they look at bizarre ways of dealing with problems. I am sure the drafting office staff must be very disappointed also. I am not sure what the plural is but, with respect, I will call them drafters and hope the wind does not get too strong. I wonder if they get frustrated when Bills are drafted, changed and passed on all Stages and are then either not implemented or the process of implementation is too slow. We must look at this issue.

We keep talking in this House. It is a talking shop and there are many areas affected. When I started here I wanted a capping or can tax. I asked the then Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, God rest him, for such a tax to be imposed in respect of off-licence sales. The publicans and the Vintners Federation of Ireland had lobbied me, and rightly so. I had no problem with that because I use a lot of pubs for hosting my clinics and I understood that they all paid rates, staff wages, ESB bills, VAT, insurance and so on. They sponsor everything that goes on in a parish. They are the first whose doors are knocked on by people seeking sponsorship, so we must give back something to them. They are small family businesses and they are trying to survive. It is not easy. An uneven playing field has arisen over the past 20 years. One can now buy 20 cans or 20 bottles of alcohol for €20 or less. A cap or can tax would have brought in almost €1 billion in revenue when the State needed it badly in 2009, 2010 and 2011. When the previous Government led by the Minister's party came to power in 2011, I lobbied it also. Promises were made. Deputy Burton, who was a member of the Cabinet at the time, actually told me that the tax was going to be introduced in 2012 budget or that for 2013. It was not brought in. The next day I asked her what had happened, as she had been full sure. Deputy Burton said that the supermarket lobby was more powerful than the Vintners Federation of Ireland. That is a fact.

We have been raped and plundered up and down the country, in farming and every other industry, big business. We have all the big co-ops and big industries in now. Nothing saddens me more when at home in Tipperary when I see Tesco van driving up and down the boreens and lanes day and night. We are so short-sighted. It is fine if a person has no other way of getting his or her shopping and has to do it online. However, if we then need a local shop in order to buy bread or milk, we will not have anything like that when it is gone. Cad a dhéanfaimid feasta gan adhmad. The shops will all be gone. Big businesses are a scourge in this country. While we need and support foreign direct investment, we have to impose controls on them. They have too much power. They have an in with the Minister and his colleagues.

It is the same with the pharmaceutical companies. Nobody is commenting on the problem with prescription drugs. It is a massive issue. I have noted down the two Ds; drink and drugs. These are the lethal cocktails at home. Wine is so cheap and so available. These are the big industries and they have us in their pockets. I do not say this lightly. It is my honest and firm belief after ten years in the House. They are controlling everything and they are powerful and to hell with ordinary people and workers who are looking to buy homes and get on property ladder. The big people can do what they like. Ireland is a banana republic from that point of view because the State will not put any manners on any of the companies in question. Those with the responsibility in this regard just kowtow to money and everything else. It is disgusting. I would say that it is quite corrupt in this House with big business.

There is another issue regarding the pharmaceutical industry. We have had families in recently about it. The Minister said that he does not have responsibility for insurance. I prompted him and said there is such a thing as Cabinet collective responsibility. I am sure the Minister read the handbook when he was appointed and he should know by now that he has a responsibility. Several hundred families in the State have issues and concerns in respect of the HPV vaccine and when they came out an lobbied on the issues, they were threatened by a man the Minister should have sacked, Mr. Tony O'Brien. They were called "emotional terrorists."

See this speech in context