Ivana Bacik (Independent)

As Senator White has said, this amendment is not just about public order but about public policy, and not just public policy as it relates to the consumption of intoxicating liquor but as it relates to socialising and social culture generally. Thus, it has a considerable impact. I may have sounded frivolous earlier when I mentioned dancing and so on, but it is a serious matter. In order to be serious, we must take into account that it is about more than just alcohol consumption. It is about the culture we wish to see prevail in our urban centres.

The Minister of State made some points about public order. The concern in England and Wales, as I understood it, was that the trouble was simply being deferred and that similar public order issues were occurring at a later hour. That is targeted in my own amendment, No. 9, which is similar to this one. The amendment allows some flexibility in that a court may specify that particular places close at different times, including earlier than 4 a.m. Therefore, it is not necessarily the case that all venues would be closing at the same time, which would lead to the problems identified earlier. We are all suggesting that there be some system allowing sequential or differential opening hours for different venues.