Seanad debates
Wednesday, 18 June 2003
Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003: Second Stage.
I have another question about how licensing laws operate. I gather that matters have been much improved since, but 15 to 20 years ago I witnessed a rubber-stamp situation in the District Court which I felt was not appropriate. Special exemptions are a matter of definition. What is so special about them? They are all over the place. I had thought there was a requirement that a special exemption be for something special, but I know places in my district which get 30 in a month. There is nothing special about that, so the whole thing is a farce. It is just a way of getting round the licensing laws. If we are to have a special exemption, let us have it tightened up so that we know what it is – the barman's birthday or the anniversary of the Pope's coronation. Whatever it is, let us have a special reason for a special exemption.
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