Results 1,141-1,160 of 1,981 for speaker:Conor Lenihan

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I refer to the purpose of this Bill and I want to address Senator Quinn's point on the nanny state.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: If restricting the availability of alcohol and the opening hours during which people can avail of alcohol represents a nanny state then I say "guilty as charged".

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I will refer to the survey by the British Home Office because it is interesting. It notes evidence from countries that have moved from strict opening hours to a more relaxed regime, such as Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and Iceland, and the experience has been that liberalised regimes tend to result in higher levels of alcohol consumption and more alcohol related problems of crime and...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: The survey of police forces indicated that crimes committed between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. were up by 22%. Meanwhile, three quarters of health authorities surveyed reported increases in spending as a result of a rise in accident and emergency department admissions between those times.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: This is why I cannot accept Senator Regan's suggestion that we should keep these nightclubs open until 4 a.m. The Government has decided that they should close at 3 a.m. and, unfortunately, this means Senator Bacik cannot dance all night in a nightclub. There is a serious issue in the relationship we have with alcohol. I would love if our relationship with it were similar to that on the...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: This Bill is the first instalment of serious new legislative measures to curtail the public disorder associated with alcohol. All governments, including this one, will have to address this issue. I do not see how tourists can find it attractive to come to Ireland and see people falling out of pubs drunk, getting into fights and having problems with the police.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I do not know of any evidence to suggest tourists come to Ireland to drink at 4 a.m. Figures show that most tourists who come to Ireland are low imbibers of alcohol who tend to be rather more sedentary than the locals regarding drinking practices and nightclub attendance. The surveys from tourist authorities show little demand from tourists for the all-night dancing and drinking experiences...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: It is not outdated in the literal sense, in that it was introduced in 2003. I do not wish to pun, but this is not to be and I cannot accept the amendment. It seeks to repeal section 12 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003, which prohibits entertainment during the 30-minute period of drinking-up time following normal closing time and special exemption orders. Section 12 of the 2003 Act was...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: There seems to be a textual confusion in this amendment. It is difficult to make sense of. It refers to the District Court exercising discretion in granting licences and the need to avoid closing a significant number of premises in a particular locality at the same time on the same day or days. In fact, the District Court does not grant licences. The key point here is that the timing...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I thank Senator Regan for this amendment, but it is not necessary since the content is already covered in section 4(1)(d), which prohibits off-sales during any period covered by a general exemption order.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I compliment Senator Regan for coming up with this amendment. While I appreciate the reasons behind this amendment, the Department would need some time to discuss its implications with the Garda Commissioner. The Garda has already moved towards this idea in operational terms. Recommendation 31 of the advisory group on alcohol suggests that there should be a garda assigned to licensing...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I appreciate the intention of Senator Norris's amendment. Section 7 deals with applications for new off-licences and subsection (3) gives the Garda and local residents the opportunity to object on any ground set out in subsection (1) to the granting of the required District Court certificate. These grounds include that an off-licence would be unsuitable for the area or that there are...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I assume this amendment was intended to propose that structural separation would be implemented by means of regulations tabled by the Minister following consultation with relevant interests and that any such regulations would require the approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas before entering into force. This is not what the amendment proposes. By not proposing the repeal of lines 14 to...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I cannot accept these amendments, which seek an exemption from structural separation requirements for special tobacconists. The only special tobacconist with which I am familiar is J. J. Fox Limited, opposite Trinity College. The first difficulty is that the proposed new section, despite its length, does not contain a definition as to what constitutes a specialist tobacconist. Although it...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: Apart from the absence of any criteria to distinguish specialist outlets from non-specialist ones, another problem arises. While the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has general responsibility for the licensing laws, he or she has no direct involvement in granting of licences or the application of those laws. These are matters for the courts and the Garda. It would not be...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: Before the general election, Senator Regan's party leader was very keen to invoke the Judeo-Christian tradition as one of the bases for the development of Irish life and society in the future. It puzzles me that Fine Gael seems to have departed from the notion of Sunday being sacred or, in a sense, being different even if one does not have a religious belief——

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I am not keen nor is the Government——

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: ——on extending the period within which opening can occur to 2.30 a.m. We cannot accede to that amendment. We also have a problem with Senator Bacik's suggestion that we give a two-hour supplement to special exemption orders. Again, it goes back to the philosophical standpoint of this Bill. We are not in favour of extending hours generally. When the Oireachtas Joint Committee on...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: This would create another unmanageable loophole and another series of unmanageable later openings which we do not need.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: The making of regulations to require labelling of alcohol containers is already provided for in section 22 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003. This legislation permits the making of a statutory instrument specifying particulars to be affixed to containers at off-licence premises in which alcohol is sold for consumption thus enabling the premises concerned to be identified. While the...