Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I second the amendment proposed by Senator Terry. Unlicensed restaurants are governed by conditions attached to planning permission in relation to opening and closing times. The Bill provides that a judge will have discretion to close a premises for a certain period and that staff will not be at any loss as a result. A situation could arise where a judge might decide to close a premises on Saturday nights, being the busiest night of the week, for, perhaps, a period of six or eight months. Is it the intention of the Bill that, for the duration of the closure order, the proprietor would have to pay the staff who normally work on Saturday nights? If that was to be the case, it would seem very unjust and indicates the need for Senator Terry's amendment. In such circumstances a proprietor might well conclude that it was not worth the trouble and cost of continuing in business and decide to close down completely on Saturday nights, rather than incur the cost of extra staff and security services. He or she might decide to remain closed on Saturday nights and confine operations to regular daily business, in line with pub closing times rather than disco times, having regard to the closure order imposed by the court.

What is clearly spelt out in the Bill is that the staff would have to be paid for the period of the closure and a judge may well make a decision to close a premises on a specific night or part of a specific night for a long period. In that event, is it binding on the proprietor to pay his staff? Staff have entitlements and we agree fully with that, but a proprietor may have to pay staff for a 12 month period or for a longer period during which the closure order would be in place.