Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

I was totally incensed by an article I read in The Irish Times last Friday. It stated an off-licence in a supermarket had sold two bottles of vodka to two 15 year olds on the night on which the junior certificate results were released. The case was heard in court and the off-licence was fined €100. It later came to the attention of the judge that mandatory closure applies in all cases where under-age customers are sold alcohol. The off-licence was therefore directed to close between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., that is, for two hours. I believed this was a joke and that we must not be reading the decision correctly.

We frequently talk in the Seanad about youngsters behind the wheels of cars, which are lethal weapons. Surely a bottle of vodka in the hands of a 15 year old girl or boy is a lethal weapon. In view of this the judgment is a crying shame. When we next deal with legislation relevant to this issue, I ask that provision be made for further security and restrictions in the issuing of licences, particularly to off-licences associated with supermarkets.

Senators Dardis, Finucane and I served on the Joint Committee on Article 35.4.1°. of the Constitution and Section 39 of the Courts of Justice Act 1924, which achieved a great deal. For two and a half years, it sat in camera and its members were not allowed to speak about matters discussed. There were no recordings of its meetings. The committee met on 37 occasions and all its members had to be present for it to meet. It was like a court in that we could not carry on our business if one member was missing. The committee dealt with potential legal and constitutional difficulties associated with impeachment and they have all been resolved. A roadmap has been created to allow for hearings if a similar case occurs again. New cases will not be tied up in the courts, as was the one in question.