Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is placing the entire onus on the proprietors of discos, bars, restaurants and fast food outlets. This Bill is demanding that these people alone be responsible for keeping order on their premises – and now on the streets too. There is nothing in the Bill about the responsibility of the individual.

One can go to any of the Irish bars in New York, on St. Patrick's Day for example, and there will be massive crowds there, yet one will not see any bouncers on doors, nor are there regulations in that regard. Neither does one see any trouble.

We can debate what is reasonable or unreasonable, and how the courts and the Garda may interpret things, but at times the law is an ass, and there will be some cases where injustice takes place. There are vindictive people out there who do things out of spite, and we know all about those cases over the years. Senator Tuffy is quite right that these occasions can occur. A person's business might be subject to a closure order for a period of time, and when the premises re-opens, the business may well be gone. That might well be the result of someone acting vindictively or out of spite.