Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I appreciate the intention of Senator Norris's amendment. Section 7 deals with applications for new off-licences and subsection (3) gives the Garda and local residents the opportunity to object on any ground set out in subsection (1) to the granting of the required District Court certificate. These grounds include that an off-licence would be unsuitable for the area or that there are already sufficient off-licences in the area.

Since these are applications for new licences and not renewals of existing licences, the Garda superintendent is not in a position to present a document certifying that the premises have been properly managed and supervised during the preceding year. The matter raised in this amendment could be considered in the context of licence renewal, which will be dealt with the forthcoming sale of alcohol Bill. I agree with Senator Norris in this respect as there is a distinct problem of judges not having the requisite knowledge or information about the character of the individual behind a particular licence application and what has been the previous experience of management of a particular premises. However, this applies to renewals rather than de novo applications for off-licences. I remind the Senator that this measure operates in two ways in so far as courts are sometimes influenced by the Garda Síochána, even though the company and directors of premises may have changed. I have dealt directly with a case in my constituency in which new directors who were reforming the operation of the premises were stuck with the reputation of the previous company directors who had misrun the premises. I agree with the spirit of the amendment, which could be incorporated in some fashion in the sale of alcohol Bill in the autumn.