Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Where is the logic in that? People who have not been in a craft brewery will want to do tours but if a person has had the tour, bar a change in the premises, he or she is unlikely to want to have a tour every time he or she goes in looking for a six-pack. The long and the short of it is that we are dancing around issues here for God knows what reason. I presume it is to placate the vintners. It just does not make sense. If we insist on the guided tours, who in God's name is going to monitor them? Who will make sure the tours are done and are done right? Where will the evidence come from? If someone does not do tours, how will the Department deal with the individual who sold a six-pack of beer to a fellow who did not want to do the tour for the umpteenth time? How will the Department monitor that? Let us suppose the Department does come up some sort of censure, will there be an appeal process involved? The Minister is looking for trouble. I do not see clarity in the approach.

The Department has defined the terms of a guided tour in Government amendment No. 13. It must include "an explanation of, or information relating to, the process whereby the intoxicating liquor is manufactured". It must be "carried out in person" and it "requires a ticket to be issued to the person participating in the tour, whether a fee is paid for the ticket or not". A number of problems arise in that regard. Let us say one is a small producer brewing beer and one has a team of probably three people at most doing what is quite intense and physical work. The place will be a bit of a mess. The floor will be wet. It is a normal brew day. There is no time, nor is it safe to give a tour, as described by the Government in amendment No. 13. There is nothing wrong with the description of a tour. It is good to describe these things, but it means that the brewery will by law not be allowed to sell a case or a can of beer for takeaway to anyone who comes to the brewery for the purpose of getting a six-pack. Because of the work that is taking place at that particular time, the brewer is not going to be a position to facilitate a tour. We are being impractical.

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