Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply. It is very encouraging that she will be announcing the task force next week, and if it is a day or two after Monday, we will not be holding her to that. I think all Members of the House agree that the promotion of our night-time culture is very important. What the Labour Party committed to in our manifesto complements a lot of what is in the programme for Government. As such, we would be supportive of any of the measures that are coming in that we feel will progress this issue. As we know, our licensing laws do need some reform. Many of our pubs and restaurants are not open at the moment and we need to use this time to plan for when they do, not only during the day but through the night.

I have something else to ask the Minister as well. It is all very well and good to have a vibrant night-time culture, but on the issue of provision of out-of-hours or 24-hour public transport in Cork, Dublin and the major cities and towns, will the Minister give any indication of what work the task force will be doing in that regard?

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