Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I am replying to comments made by the Minister of State, who suggested that people who tabled amendments seeking longer opening times had somehow done so at the behest of lobbyists or vested interests. I take exception to that assertion. The one vested interest group to which the Minister of State did not refer is that which comprises consumers. I have attended nightclubs and bars — and I hope to continue to do so — and, like most Members, I was lobbied by the nightclub industry. We were also lobbied by those who attend nightclubs and late bars, which is fair enough.

I would have tabled my amendments regardless of whether I had been lobbied. I have a long record of seeking action in respect of this matter. I wrote in Gay Community News on the need to liberalise opening hours. In the past I made a submission, in a personal capacity, to the Commission on Alcohol requesting that opening hours be liberalised. I also supported a proposal put forward by a previous Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to the effect that café bar licences should be introduced in this country.

It is unfair to state that people are suggesting that opening hours be extended just because the Irish Nightclub Industry Association or some other lobby group made a recommendation in this regard. There is an important principle at stake — namely, that the laws should not be as restrictive as they are at present — in which many of us believe.