Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

All of Senator Ruane's comments will be brought to the attention of the Minister and her officials. One of the facets of the new Bill is the standardisation of opening hours for pubs and off-licences . The introduction of annual late permits and annual nightclub permits will be very important in large cities but perhaps not so important in a smaller rural town or village. All of these matters will be given consideration.

Public health is a key consideration for the Department of Justice in regulating the sale of alcohol. When considering the introduction of reforms with regard to the sale of alcohol, and as part of the process, the Department will continue to engage with various public and voluntary health bodies.

To answer Senator Ruane's question on a timeline, one has not been provided. In that context, I know there is a large amount of pressure on the Office of the Attorney General at present. I have been working on a mental health Bill for almost four years. It will be published by the end of this month. It is going to be very important. It runs to more than 200 pages and contains 188 sections. It is a very complex Bill, and there will be overlap in the context of the issues raised by Senator Ruane. I will bring her comments back to the Minister and ask her about the timeline that the Senator has sought.