Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I thank the Cathaoirleach and Members for the opportunity to introduce this Bill at short notice. As the House is aware, publication of the Bill was approved by the Government yesterday. The fact that we are discussing it here today is an indication of the priority the Government and this House attaches to its subject matter.

I thank to the members of the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights for last Wednesday's discussion on the general scheme of the Bill. Having reflected on the outcome of those discussions, I have introduced a number of changes. I will mention these when I am dealing with the detailed provisions. Before entering into the detail, however, I wish to make a few general points.

The Bill is an interim response to the recommendations of the Commission on Liquor Licensing and the first report of the strategic task force on alcohol, which was established by the Minister for Health and Children. The House will recall that the Commission on Liquor Licensing was established by the Government in late 2000 to review the liquor licensing system and to make recommendations for any necessary legislative changes. By the time it had concluded its work at the end of March 2003, the commission had submitted four reports covering various aspects of the licensing laws and collectively containing over 130 recommendations.

One of the commission's recommendations is a codification of the intoxicating liquor code which is currently spread across many statutes, some dating back to the early part of the 19th century. Such an exercise is long overdue. It will result in all law relating to the supply of intoxicating liquor in Ireland being found in one Act, which will be up-to-date, modern, readable and accessible. This exercise was first recommended in 1925. I have accepted that particular recommendation without hesitation. The preparatory work is already underway in my Department and I expect an outline of the Bill will be available by mid-2004.

In the meantime, I have decided to bring forward the short Bill before the House in response to urgent recommendations of the commission. The proposals in the Bill are consistent with the recommendations set out in the interim report of the strategic task force on alcohol, which was published last year, and are also relevant in the context of the special initiative on tackling alcohol abuse set out in chapter 2 of the current social partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress.

The Bill does not seek to encompass the wider structural reforms advocated by the commission in its reports. My intention is that these will be addressed in the codification Bill. There will be ample opportunity to discuss the contents of that legislation, including the response to all the commission's recommendations, next year. The codification Bill will also provide us with an opportunity to revisit the provisions set out in the current proposal. My hope is that the sense of urgency, which we all share, attaching to the proposals before us, will facilitate a speedy passage of the Bill through both Houses before the summer recess in the knowledge that we will revisit this business next year and will be able to address any imperfections that may emerge.