Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On that point, it seems that since we came to the Convention Centre, we do not get copies of ministerial speeches. It would be appropriate if a note was sent from the Office of the Ceann Comhairle or the Leas Ceann Comhairle to all Ministers suggesting that this should happen.

As the Minister noted, the issue at stake is the very small minority of premises that have acted outside the restrictions, which they have flouted. They are very much in the minority. The vast majority of licensed premises have acted very responsibly and have done their best to work within the guidelines. The small number which break the guidelines, and do so consistently, must be brought to book and that is what this Bill is about. We are in a position now that we should not be in because the way this was handled in the past, by allowing some premises to open and others not based on whether they served food which created a huge problem. The same problem exists in my part of the country as everywhere else where towns might have seven or eight pubs where two operate and the rest are closed and looking on. That is totally inappropriate. If all those pubs were open, the crowds in them would be much smaller and we would not be in this situation. Unfortunately, this country has a reputation for the abuse of alcohol, which is often discussed or thrown at us but our licensed trade does an excellent job and can be trusted to deal with people in an appropriate way and has done up to now. Our teachers can be trusted to bring children back to school. Everyone in our society is working well together. It should be possible for the Government to sit down with the vintners' associations and everyone else and work out a scheme that will work for everyone rather than the situation that exists now.

This type of legislation is required for the very small minority of situations. I have spoken to members of An Garda Síochána who told me they are in a very difficult position as they are unable to act in an appropriate way when they move into these situations. We recognise that it is difficult for gardaí to walk into a place and decide whether people have or have not had food. To adjudicate that is difficult and we must put something in place in order that where there is clear flouting of the regulations and people are effectively putting two fingers up to the authorities, there is some recourse. In that context, we support the idea behind the Bill and support and recognise that there must be measures in place to do this.

The rescue scheme which was put in place to try to assist the other pubs has come too late for many. The Government must examine this. It will not be enough to get them over the situation. Many publicans in parts of rural Ireland, at least, which are of the least risk are the ones that have suffered most in this. Quite apart from this legislation, the time has come for Government to work with all the parties, particularly the vintners and small rural pubs, to come up with a solution that works for them, the customers and everyone involved. That should be done as quickly as possible.

There are many other sectors with much bigger problems than in the licensed trade. Many have mentioned the problems in direct provision.

We also have the situation involving the meat factories. Yet the Government seems to be continuously focusing on the licensed trade. There needs to be a reality check on this and the Government needs to come back and look at that again. It needs to recognise that if we are going to have some kind of provisions to ensure pressure is put on people in the licensed trade some way or other to ensure they do the right thing - in a minority of cases that needs to happen - similar pressure needs to be brought to bear on other sectors which have been clearly flouting all of the regulations and continue to do so. The meat factories in particular spring to mind everywhere around the country.

The Minister and the Government need to look at this very seriously and come up with solutions. I look forward to further debates to tease out the detail in this. Concerns have been raised as to the regulations and how some measures may be put in place at a future date. The Minister has assured me that additional information has now been published on the website if it has not already been circulated. That needs to happen as quickly as possible. It is inappropriate to leave Deputies or Parliament in the dark on these matters.

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