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

This legislation came before us six months ago and six months before that. We all recognise that Covid brought massive changes to our lives, one of which was the advent of a more continental European-type lifestyle where people drink and eat outdoors, which we had not been doing to any great extent up to then. We recognise the positive benefits of that. The last time this legislation was before us we spoke about how there was a need to reform many of these laws permanently to ensure we had this in place permanently. I acknowledge the Minister of State's reference to that and the work that has been done around the liquor licensing laws, trying to bring them into the 21st century from the Public Dance Halls Act right the way back to previous legislation. That work is welcome and ongoing. We have all co-operated in trying to make it as positive as possible. However, there are some concerns around it. We also need to acknowledge that.

We have had a significant problem in this country of alcoholism and of people becoming seriously addicted. We have a problem of antisocial behaviour, particularly in late-night situations. We see it in the city of Dublin and there is evidence in many areas around the country of the negative impact when alcohol is used to excess and all that flows from it. We need to be conscious of this as well. I was recently in the United States, where there are very long opening hours for licensed premises. One of things they are very strict on there is people drinking outdoors in public. We have to find the correct balance here. I hope we can do that.

I am also conscious that the whole tourism industry has been in turmoil. That sector has had a very difficult couple of years. We look forward to what is hoped will be better times ahead. However, it has to be said also that many of our hotels are at present facilitating the provision of accommodation for refugees and people from Ukraine, who are very welcome there. I think some 20% or 25% of our hotel rooms are taken up for that use at the moment. The Government has stated that it is possible people from Ukraine who are staying in the hotels will not be provided food in them. I wonder about the knock-on impact that will have. Obviously, many of the hotels will be getting a lower rate. Will they decide to opt out of it because they want to get back to the business they set themselves up for in the very beginning, namely, providing accommodation for tourists, people in business or whoever needs hotel accommodation? We could find the move might have a negative impact. It needs to be done with great caution and care.

Further to that, for many communities that have welcomed people from Ukraine, which is the most recent crisis, and indeed other people seeking international protection from other areas, there are massive issues in respect of resources. We had resource competition in this country for a very long time before anybody came from anywhere else. Whether people seek educational, health or social resources, there is intense competition. When people come from other places and put more intensity into that competition, it causes friction and difficulties. There needs to be a great effort by Government to support communities to welcome people, as they do, and to put the resources in place so that it does not create too much additional pressure. Everyone in this House would understand that there is pressure and many of our citizens are in dire need in respect of GP services, hospital waiting lists or special needs assistants in schools. All of those things are coming under greater pressure as more people come from Ukraine and other countries. We need to acknowledge that by ensuring we put more people in place to provide those services.

The efforts that have been made to reform the alcohol laws and the issue of late trading are very welcome. We have work to do. The Minister of State hopes the legislation will be coming forward in 2023. I hope this will be the last time we are renewing this emergency legislation if the other legislation comes into place. We have no difficulty in supporting it. One of the difficulties with it from the very outset was that it went a distance that people were not expecting. Many of the local authorities did not have provisions in place such as by-laws and so on. There were also issues for the Garda as to how legal it was for people to be drinking on the streets. There was a grey area there. The gap was filled but there are difficulties around these things. I accept and understand that, in the context of Covid, there was no other way of doing it, but rushed legislation leaves space for mistakes to be made. We need to learn from those mistakes when we are putting permanent measures in place, as I hope we will be doing with the new legislation.

We understand the efforts that were made through Covid by everyone across the board. All of us on this side of the House are critical of Government for many reasons when things could be done better or more could be done. There were instances where more could have been done, things could have been done faster or people supported more. That said, to our credit, the community in Ireland did a great job in ensuring we have kept to an absolute minimum the numbers of people who contracted Covid, died from Covid or have had long-lasting impacts of it. That is something we should take credit for as a society and a country. I know Covid numbers are fluctuating and we have better medicines now to deal with it. However, there are a lot of people with long-term symptoms of Covid-19. There are serious issues in regard to how that has been dealt with. The medical provision to assist people with long Covid has undergone some reduction in services and resources. The Government needs to focus on that and ensure we put the services in place. I have had people in my constituency office who are suffering from the long-term effects of Covid and find it very difficult to get the kind of assistance they need. The Government needs to reflect on this and ensure we do everything we can to assist those who, unfortunately, contracted the disease and have the serious impact of a long-term health problem. The problems businesses may have in regard to how they can make a profit is certainly something we have to deal with, but the most acute thing we have to do is ensure those who have long-term, continuous health problems because of contracting Covid-19 get the resources they require. That is a serious issue the Government needs to deal with.

We have no difficulty in supporting the ongoing provision of this legislation. I hope this is the last time we are doing this and that full and proper measures will be in place before we have to return here in six months.

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