Alex White (Labour)

The Minister of State's response was unconvincing. The premise on which it was based was that those who advocated lengthier opening hours for nightclubs in England and Wales had done so on the basis that it would reduce social disorder arising from drinking but when social disorder was found not to have been reduced, the plan had failed. Sequential opening is only one aspect of this, although an important one. It is amusing to some extent and we can talk about dancing till dawn and so on, but as legislators we have a serious responsibility. If adults wish to go out and have a good time in our cities and towns, it is not any part of our job to stop them doing so unless a compelling case is put forward that it causes harm to others. To me that is a basic premise. The proposal that opening hours for nightclubs should be more liberal is not being introduced as a public order measure but as a sensible suggestion in the interest of citizens of the State who wish to go out and have a good time, whether it is dancing until dawn or otherwise, having a late drink or meeting friends.

If there is a compelling argument that later opening hours are a risk to public order, of course we must consider it very carefully. The wish of people to stay out late drinking in nightclubs could be overridden by an argument that it would undermine public order. I accept that premise. However, no argument made by the Minister convinces me that it has that effect. In fact, the outcome of the analysis in England and Wales was that whatever level of disorder that had existed prior to the extension of opening hours remained. It appears it had a neutral, not a detrimental effect on public order. A good legislator would say that if the measure does not have a detrimental effect and if there are other positive reasons to support it, it should be implemented.

There has been much talk about what the Garda Síochána wants. Of course the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will listen carefully to its advice. However, the Garda does not run the country. It is there to perform a service for citizens of the State. One of the things I have heard over the last few days is that some members of the Garda are saying they want closing time to be at 2.30 a.m. for everybody because it is consistent with their shift pattern. They want to get everything wrapped up and sorted out by 3 a.m. so they can clear off out of town. It would be unacceptable if this decision were to be made based on the shift pattern of the Garda. If there is a compelling public order argument against later hours, we must all listen to it. However, if, as in the case of England and Wales, the measure has a neutral effect, then it is not detrimental.