Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

People in my family feel very strongly about what they consume with regard to food on Good Friday and Ash Wednesday. It is something they do because of their strong religious beliefs. I will not belittle anybody. In fact, I was very impressed by Senator Joe O'Reilly's speech. Despite the fact he was interrupted by number of people in the Chamber, I am quite impressed that somebody would stand against the grain and make the case for the retention of the law as it is, although I do not agree with his reasons.

As somebody who fundamentally believes in the separation of church and state, this is not the big issue. Our churches still have a huge influence over our hospitals, health system and education system, and there are bigger issues that need to be contended with.

I must accept the issues raised by my colleagues in Sinn Féin on workers' rights, and agree with the representatives from the trade unions who have also made these cases. It is a low-paid industry where people generally start on very low pay, and it is a vulnerable type of work. By its very nature, the individuals employed in the industry deal with people who have had too much to drink. It is something of which we must be mindful. In this regard I am thankful we did not ram through the legislation in one day and we are taking the time to consider it more fully.

I will summarise my few points. Our national obsession with alcohol is dysfunctional and literally killing us. It is supported by a very powerful lobby group, whose influence on Irish legislation is something that must be tackled. I make reference again to its objections to the injecting centres. It is remarkable how it feels the drug it pedals is somehow more socially acceptable than what we are trying to control in injecting centres. Fundamentally, as somebody who believes in the separation of church and state, on this basis if someone wants to go down to a pub on Good Friday and have a pint in good conscience who are we to stop him or her from doing this?

I believe the original legislation was enacted in 1927 and it also included St. Patrick's Day. Since that was overturned 50 years ago, nobody has suggested we should return to having pubs closed on St. Patrick's Day. Let us be honest, what goes on on Good Friday shows exactly what type of a dysfunctional relationship we have with alcohol. There are lines of people outside off-licences on Holy Thursday, people trying to get into train stations to go on imaginary train journeys and people going on barges on the canal. I heard a story last Good Friday of a friend of mine on a barge on the canal, who shared the barge with several friends and an English hen party who were so confused as they could not find a drink in Dublin.