Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are saving the best one to last. I salute the Minister and thank him most sincerely for the manner in which he has approached Committee Stage and the way he co-operated, in particular with Senator Swanick. There has been goodwill and constructiveness in all quarters of the House today.

I support the Bill entirely except for this section, as the Minister knows from my repeated representations. I would have that attitude as I have the honour of being the nominee of RGDATA. I thank the Minister for accepting he will meet with the representatives of the various interests between Committee Stage and Report Stage. I have no doubt that as a result of that and whatever amendments he then brings forward it will be a much better Bill.

Structural separation is an issue. We are all concerned with rural Ireland and small shops. As Senator McDowell said, uisce beatha, the water of life, has been an integral part of Irish life and society for generations. We will not be able to banish it. They cannot hide it away. We should be practical. None of us supports addiction or excessive drinking but most of us enjoy a drink. Why should we deny people that? I am thinking of people who live in Beaufort, in Rooskey or in places like that. Take, for example, a husband and wife, getting ready to watch the "Late Late Show" on a Friday evening when the wife decides she would like a little drop of white wine. Maybe the husband prefers a drop of red and she is encourages him to go down to the village or nearest town, a few miles away. He goes to a Mace, Centra, Gala, Spar or an unaligned-----