Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This definition is very prescriptive. I heard the Minister of State refer to it. It is another example of overreach and overkill. Deputy Howlin referred to it as well. A small pub I know of in Ballylooby, Keating's, is closed, unfortunately. It is a lovely thatched pub but it is impossible now to get insurance for the building. It is never going to open again now thanks to the lockdown. It was run by an elderly couple and I thank that lovely family for their service to the public over the years. It was a tiny pub in a step down from a bend in the road in the lovely village of Béal Átha Lúbaigh near Cathair Dún Iascaigh in Tiobraid Árann theas. The pub consisted of a tiny room that would fit into the backyard, which is much bigger. Why is it necessary to insert in the legislation a requirement to have a seating area no greater outside than inside?

My understanding of some of the seating arrangements that the Leas-Cheann Comhairle spoke of in Gaillimh and all over the country, and which was supported by Tipperary County Council, is that some of what is being installed is public seating. It is a shared space. Much was made of the Barcelona Declaration and that shared spaces can be used by patrons from any restaurant or by people who just want to sit down and drink a bottle of water they brought with them. How is a publican going to enforce this regulation in an area outside? If there are 22 people, will he ask four to leave because there are only 18 seats inside the premises? I refer to normal times, not Covid times because premises may now only have three seats inside because of the restrictions.

This is overreach. Whoever drafted this legislation certainly never stood behind a bar or shop counter and has no understanding of how to deal with the public. We want the public to be with us and the majority are law-abiding citizens who respect business owners and have good banter and craic. How is it going to be possible to insist that there must be the same number or less outside as inside? It makes no sense. We are going outside so that the economy can take off like a rocket, as the Tánaiste talks about, and to build back better. I did not know where that expression came from when I heard it first but I do now. It did not come from the Tánaiste, although he is using it. It is being touted all over the world and there is a very specific reason for it.

How is it going to be possible to insist that people must get up and leave the outside part of a premises? They may not be customers in the first place but customers of an adjoining bar or food outlet, or perhaps just resting. This is farcical in the extreme. We then have the non-descriptive nature of the licensee or the person in charge. It could be a young person who is not vaccinated because he or she could not get the vaccine. The person might be overseeing alone at a quiet time or covering a tea break or something like that. Are these people going to be prosecuted? Is the rush and indecent haste to draft the legislation causing these kinds of silly aspects to be included? The requirement not to have more customers outside than inside turns the whole reason for outdoor dining and seating on its head. "Amuigh Faoin Spéir" was a wonderful programme which used to be on television and being outside means being able to breathe in the lovely air. This measure is over-prescriptive and nonsensical.

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