Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I thank Members for their contributions. On the issue of alcohol sales, I have introduced these controls to deal with the change in the use of a shop where a substantial part of the trade is in the off-licence sector. It will have the impact Senator Terry and Senator Brady desire. No one wants to be a killjoy or interfere with consumer choice, but there must be control in this area. My long held view is that this was a blatant anomaly, therefore, I indicated early on that I would introduce this regulation. I am pleased I have the support of Members of this House.

On the issue of wine sales, this is currently dealt with under the wine licences regulations. These, in turn, are dealt with by the Revenue Commissioners. Under the Intoxicating Liquor Bill, all licences will be brought together and dealt with by the courts. This is one of the positive and progressive aspects with which the Minister, Deputy McDowell, will be dealing in the legislation. I agree with Senator Terry that alcohol is alcohol. While there is an irresponsible attitude to its massive over-consumption, unfortunately, we will have to proceed by way of regulation. I cannot deal with this issue because it is an ancillary to the main business of petrol stations. Regardless of my personal views, I cannot go into that area.

Senator Kitt referred to young people getting their hands on crates of alcohol. This will continue to happen. It happened last summer and the summer before that. There have been difficulties throughout the country in this regard. I examined how this aspect is controlled in other countries. For example, if one is buying large supplies of alcohol, such as a crate or two crates of beer, from an off-licence or any other establishment in the United States, it is bar coded. There is a bar code on the bottom of every crate and every can, and one must produce identification. The bar code is read, the purchaser's name and details are recorded, and if it ends up in the hands of a minor, one will find oneself in difficulties. Senator Brady made the point, and rightly so, that there is need for responsibility among more adult members of the population who currently supply young people with alcohol. Even though I would like to have control over these matters, they fall outside the remit of my office. There is a consciousness in Government of the points made.

I also bow to Senator Kitt's superior knowledge of cutting turf. While I was aware that turf did not always come in briquette form — I am a few years older than Senator Brady and I married a woman from Mayo where turf-cutting is very important — the Senator made the point that it would be a very unusual small holder who would cut 24.7 acres of turf. I am trying to strike a balance here. Remember where we are in terms of our difficulties with Europe. While we have enacted a lot of European legislation, we have not transposed it satisfactorily into Irish law. An issue has arisen here, therefore, we will find ourselves before the court and paying substantial daily fines if we cannot assure the Commission, which is the body that polices the operations of the laws we have all enacted in Europe. That is why this change is being introduced.

I was amused yesterday to hear Deputy Gilmore's contribution because I was not aware of turf-cutting to any extent in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Of course, he was harking back to the home place. Now that I have clarified the position, no doubt he will be truthful in any debate when dealing with the issue. However, that is for another day. I assure the Senator that it is not the intention to have a negative impact on small individuals. A threshold of ten hectares, or 24.7 acres, is a substantial amount of turf-cutting.

The regulations make common sense. The third one arises from technical changes in the other House. There is a lesson for us all in this. If we are to deal with technical issues such as this, it would be better if we dealt with them by sitting down in the most civilised manner possible in a committee — not that this House has been anything other than civilised. I commend the regulations to the House. The changes, particularly the change on off-licences, will be widely welcomed by communities experiencing the type of problems the Senators outlined.