Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Darragh O'Brien.

What is the status of the Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2014 which Senator Imelda Henry tabled? The name of the Leader is also on the Bill which is No. 26 on the Order Paper. With Good Friday coming up, it would be timely to have a discussion on the issue. The Fianna Fáil Party has not made a formal decision on its policy on opening on Good Friday, but last year I had strong reservations. Yesterday I listened to Mr. Joe Finnegan on the radio station Shannonside interview a publican from Newtownbutler who was attracting customers from all over counties Cavan and Monaghan. My colleague Senator Diarmuid Wilson says Belcoo will be wide open, 100 m from Blacklion, where three or four pubs cannot open on Good Friday. It is not a level playing pitch and we should have an open-minded discussion on the issue. The Bill could be passed by Friday if people wanted it to happen, but it will not. I spoke to Mr. Padraig Cribben of the VFI who said there were 52,000 people working in the industry, an enormous number. Now they are competing with railway stations and hotels. If there are 7,300 licences - 700 in Dublin, some people have reservations about the matter. One time there was no opening on St. Patrick's Day. I have reservations about opening on Good Friday from a religious point of view, but our society has changed dramatically and we must cater for all tastes.We have to bear in mind that we are a tourist destination. The late Brian Lenihan, Senior, a brilliant politician who was a great friend and mentor spoke about the futility of consistency in the 1980s. This was the wise warning of a thinker who understood the danger of being tethered too tightly to a single position in an environment of ever shifting sands. We are on shifting sands and we should have an open discussion, at least a Second Stage debate, which would allow the Government to express its point of view. I was fundamentally opposed to this last year. In case I am accused of having a vested interest, I have a certain vested interest in light of the changed circumstances. We have great colleagues in the Presbyterian church in Northern Ireland who hold very extreme views-----