Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

The happy hour provision is one we could manage by ourselves, but the fixed amounts and the promotions area are slightly more problematic. The Attorney General's office warned me that if I did something which potentially interfered with EU trade or the capacity to promote new products and so on, I would have to notify it to the Commission. I have no problem issuing such a notification, but, if I did so, I would not be able to get the Bill passed before the summer recess. The ever-inventive parliamentary counsel thought of a way around this. It is contained in section 21(1), which deals with those types of promotions by way of regulation. It does not prevent me from passing the legislation, but requires me to notify the Commission of the regulations I make.

I know that the lawyers will look at everything with a microscope and, in the event that somebody states that it was an unintended consequence and that I got it wrong, I draw the House's attention to the happy hour provision. It states that "reduced price" means a price less than that regularly being charged for intoxicating liquor during an earlier period on the day concerned, so that allows somebody to increase the price at a later time during an evening.

In case anybody says they did not know what was being put past them, if a licence holder has a special exemption or whatever, this provision does not prohibit them from charging a different rate at a later time, provided that the increase is imposed towards the end of the evening. In the event that anybody is of the impression that we did not notice this, it is deliberate and that is the way we have to deal with it.

There are some pubs – I do not approve of such behaviour – which charge extra in the later part of the evening. On the other hand, whereas I may not approve of it, the market sometimes determines these issues. In addition, charging more during the special exemption period may deter some people from going out drinking during those periods. I am not making that illegal.

I am drawing this matter to everyone's attention because I think some eagle-eyed lawyer will see it, anyway, and then claim that I got it wrong. We did not get it wrong, we did it deliberately.

Question put and agreed to.

NEW SECTION.