Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Lawless for bringing this legislation forward because this is an important discussion. As outlined by previous contributors, we need to have this discussion as a society. I thought we were bad in the North with restricted opening hours but I quickly discovered when I came to this House that the Good Friday prohibition, as Senator Lawless calls it, is in place.

I shall stress a couple of points to the Minister of State at this early stage of my contribution. We, in Sinn Féin, first and foremost as republicans who believe in a broad civic society where all traditions and views of the world are equal, believe that pubs should be allowed to open on Good Friday. There should be no barrier to them doing so because in the past a religious denomination thought pubs should close on a Good Friday. I include a caveat to my statement on the need to show respect to those who want to observe their religious practices on Good Friday. They have an absolute right to do so and they should be afforded every opportunity to do so.

I do not believe, and Sinn Féin does not believe, that a bar being allowed to open on Good Friday hinders or prohibits people from observing their religious practices in any shape or form. I have been consistent because I was very much to the fore, in my previous role as a Belfast city councillor and a person who had the privilege to serve as Belfast's Lord Mayor, in saying that the licensing laws in the North need to be changed and modernised to bring them into the 21st century. I say so as someone who comes from a place where pubs are allowed to open for a limited period on Good Friday and over the course of the Easter weekend. This Bill is important not just in terms of what it says about the block on Good Friday but also what kind of society we seek to be. The more pluralist our society is, the greater benefits will be bestowed on us all.

I share some of the concerns expressed by Senator Norris and I hope I am not prejudging what he will say next. He expressed a concern that people have a twee notion of the Irish pub. I am someone who enjoys the Irish pub and make no apologies for doing so. When we encourage tourists to experience an Irish pub we should encourage them to do so in order to experience the music, craic, Irish hospitality and céad míle fáilte and not throw loads of money at Diageo. When we encourage people to experience Irish pub culture then we should highlight all that it has to offer.

Sinn Féin is concerned about the public health aspect. As a Seanad, and Senator Black's Bill has been referred to, we need to be careful in how we approach this issue. Sinn Féin's main concern is as follows. Senator Lawless's engagement with us thus far has been very positive and proactive. Sinn Féin wants to work collaboratively with colleagues here to improve the legislation. We have serious concerns about the working conditions for people who work in pubs and the sector. This Bill, perhaps without intending to, has shone a light on the working conditions once again.

My colleague, Senator Gavan, will outline some of Sinn Féin's concerns but they have already been articulated by Mandate and other trade unions. We need to consider these issues in their own right and on their own merit. We must acknowledge the fact, as we have said previously, that a publican can bring staff in on Good Friday. He or she can tell staff to conduct a stock take, carry out a deep clean or paint the ceiling in the toilets. If we are serious about this legislation then we need to implement the existing legislation that protects workers and puts workers in the sector and pub trade first, and affords them opportunities.

It is not good enough to simply say that people who work in a pub are guaranteed only two days off in a year. I have heard this issue articulated when discussing this Bill only to discover that it is not the case. Most bars will bring people in to work on Good Friday. Some premises, dare I say it, may open and serve drink through the back door on Good Friday. All of these matters must be discussed in the round. That is why I think the decision not take all Stages today was a positive one. It is never good practice to drive legislation as significant and important as this through the House. We need to have the opportunity, particularly on Committee Stage, for Members in the first instance to tease out some of the concerns and work with the proposers of the Bill to try and improve it where we see fit.

We also need to hear from stakeholders, the publicans, their representatives, the trade unions and the representatives of the workers who will be impacted as a result of any change. For us, this legislation is at an early stage. We will not oppose the Bill at this stage but we seek to improve the Bill where there is an understanding, acceptance and acknowledgement therein that the conditions currently faced by staff and people who work in the trade and sector are simply untenable. I wish to refer to the figure that Senator Gavan stated this morning. What percentage of people earn under €400 per week?