Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Deputies for their contributions. There is general agreement in the House that outdoor seating is a good development from the point of view of the hospitality sector and the people who go to pubs and restaurants and like to sit outside. It is also fairly clear that there is broad recognition, including from myself, that the process by which we renew this for six months needs to come to an end at some stage through permanent legislation. That is why, I repeat, I am pleased to say that I got approval from Government earlier this week to introduce a miscellaneous provisions Bill, the civil law aspect of which will put on a permanent basis the entitlement of the hospitality sector to have seating outdoors. Once this is extended today it will mean that the practice remains lawful until 30 November of this year. I hope to have the legislation that makes it permanent, the miscellaneous provisions Bill, enacted by that date. I cannot give a guarantee but I hope to have it enacted by then. As Members will be aware, there are all sorts of barriers, obstacles and requirements that have to be gone through in order for legislation to be introduced in the House and then to get through it.

I have listened very carefully to what Deputies had to say. I have no objection to Deputies raising peripheral issues. Indeed, there seems to be great expertise in the House in terms of the raising of peripheral issues. Deputy Carthy raised the issue of towns and villages in Ireland. He specifically referred to Carrickmacross and I want him to know that I am aware of that issue. I have spoken to my colleagues, the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, and Senator Robbie Gallagher and this morning I spoke to Councillor P.J. O'Hanlon in respect of it. I have discussed the matter with the chief superintendent in charge. I am aware that there is going to be an increased Garda presence. We also need to start looking at more use of CCTV cameras in our towns and villages. If it is the case, as the Deputy said, that individuals are renting out properties that are not habitable or do not comply with regulations, the local authority needs to enforce the law and ensure that they are brought before the courts. I want Deputy Carthy to be aware that I am aware of that issue and have acted in respect of it.

Deputy Kelly, as well as expressing his support for the proposed renewal of this legislation, also referred to the issue of children consuming non-alcoholic beer on licensed premises. The answer I gave him is technically the correct answer, which is that the prohibition does not apply to non-alcoholic beverages. However, being practical and as a parent, I would suggest that it is not really appropriate to be bringing children into pubs and then buying them non-alcoholic beer. We have a problem in this country with underage drinking. I do not know how this is categorised in terms of underage drinking of non-alcoholic beer in pubs. However, childhood is very short and we should try to protect children from a life of going to pubs and getting acquainted with drinking non-alcoholic drinks at a time when they should not be in pubs. There is a benefit to non-alcoholic beers. They have transformed the drinking market. They have helped a lot of people who may have drink problems to be able to continue to socialise, to go out socially and drink non-alcoholic beer.

I also listened to Deputy Gannon and agree that there have been great developments in respect of this area. He is right about Capel Street and the same applies in respect of South William Street and Drury Street. It has transformed not just Dublin city but other cities and towns. They have become much better as a result of people, including young people, out socialising in those towns and cities during the summer months. Dublin and other cities are great places for people to grow up and socialise in and we should facilitate that.

I also listened very carefully to Deputies Collins and Lawless, both of whom raised the issue of making outdoor seating rateable. They also referred to the issue of VAT for restaurants. While both are significant issues, they are not issues to which I can respond or resolve but I note the comments of the Deputies.

Finally, Deputy Gogarty referred to the relationship that Irish people have with alcohol. It is certainly the case, unfortunately, that some people in Ireland have a toxic relationship with alcohol. We need to develop a more mature relationship with it and that is something that is increasing. In the context of the resolution that is going to be renewed, there is an opportunity for us to recognise that sunset clauses do have a particular benefit at times. The reason there was a sunset clause in the legislation was in order to ensure that we could see how things progressed over time.

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