Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

I support Senator O'Toole's call for a debate on the findings of the commission on alcohol. The commission did not report exclusively on café bars. There are many other components to its proposals and it would be worthwhile to debate them. I am glad the Minister has dropped the café bar proposal. The Fine Gael parliamentary party opposed it not just on the basis of vintners' representations but also on those of health professionals. The initial objective was to end binge drinking but it was the wrong way to go about it.

The Minister might claim something of a pyrrhic victory by extending alcohol licences to restaurants but the vintners had suggested to the commission that it would be worthwhile for the licences of restaurants to be extended to allow for the sale of alcohol as well as wine. I respect the fact that, at least on this occasion, the Minister recognised the amount of opposition there was to his proposal for café bars and took a step back.