Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As I said, An Garda Síochána has made clear that the overwhelming majority of owners of licensed premises have behaved responsibly and those who continue to behave responsibly in controlling their premises should have nothing to worry about. A tiny minority of pubs have been serving alcohol to those seated outside agreed areas, and clearly that will be the focus of any Garda action in the first instance.

Many cities have by-laws in place. Local authorities have facilitated pubs with permissions for outdoor seating and grants have been made available to many businesses. We want this to work but gardaí need to be able to control matters as needed and prevent them from getting out of hand. Gardaí across the country use their discretion every day to police as the circumstances require, as they have done throughout the pandemic, and work closely with restaurants and pubs to ensure the safety of the public. I trust that Garda members will act in accordance with the Garda Commissioner's instruction and will continue to adopt a graduated approach to the public health guidelines, in the interests of public safety and order. However, the Government is clear that if we need to take further action, we will do so. The Minister for Justice, Deputy Humphreys, is discussing what further measures may be needed with the Attorney General and Government colleagues.

In response to Deputy Connolly's point about the messaging on the outdoor summer, it is broad and it is about the enjoyment of outdoor spaces and nature. We are asking for people to enjoy the outdoor summer responsibly. Those messages have begun to be sent out in media campaigns this week. The messaging is much broader and is about much more than just the consumption of alcohol in our towns and cities. It is about enjoying what the country has to offer on a broader scale. We are cognisant of that messaging and we have begun to get that message out this week.

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