McDowell: Majority in favour of café-bars

The Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is defending his plans to introduce café style bars in Ireland.

The licence would require establishments to provide hot food on the premises as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks during opening hours.

The changes are aimed at encouraging a shift away from Ireland’s binge drinking culture and counteracting the trend towards “super-pubs”.

Speaking to Radio Kerry today, Minister McDowell said: “I do believe that the great majority of Irish people favour the line that I’m taking, and obviously there is a lobby on at the moment against café-bars, but I don’t think that the will of the Irish people, which is in my opinion to make it possible to have a beer and a pizza, or a beer with your meal in any restaurant in Ireland."

A large number of Fianna Fáil back-benchers have been making unhappy noises after coming under pressure from the drinks industry to resist the changes, and the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said during the week that the plans were not set in stone.