Brendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 118: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will confirm that the Garda age card must be accepted by licensed premises, and not a passport, as proof that a person has reached the legal age for purchasing alcohol and is of an age to be allowed entry to a licensed premises. [10788/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Under section 31 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1988 (as amended), a licensee shall not sell or deliver, or permit any person to sell or deliver, intoxicating liquor to any person for consumption by a person under 18 years on the licensed premises. While that section does not specify the manner in which the licensee must establish that a person is over the age of 18 years, it provides that in any proceedings for a contravention of its provisions, it shall be a defence for the licensee to prove that the person in respect of whom the charge is brought produced a Garda age card relating to himself or herself.

While a licensee may choose to accept a passport or other form of identity card as proof that a person is over the age of 18 years, particularly in the case of young tourists or visitors, only production of the Garda age card provides a defence for the licensee in the event of any proceedings for a contravention of section 31 of the 1988 Act.