Report to target off-licence sales and pub hours

A REPORT by a Government-appointed Alcohol Advisory Group due to be presented to Justice Minister Brian Lenihan today is expected to recommend restrictions on the sale of alcohol through off-licences.

It is also likely to propose changes in support of staggering the opening hours of pubs and nightclubs, while addressing the controversial issue of below-cost selling and special promotions on the sale of alcohol through off-licences.

It will also call for increased restrictions on special exemptions granted to off-licences in order to limit opening hours in which alcohol can be sold in such outlets.

A Department of Justice spokesperson said yesterday that Mr Lenihan will study the findings of the report before publishing details of a bill that will tackle problems associated with sales of alcohol through off-licences and drinking in public places.

The legislation will represent the Government’s main response to growing public concerns over the scale of the nation’s drinking habits, high levels of alcohol consumption and binge drinking and their associated relationship with rising crime figures for violent assaults and other public order offences.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has already signalled the Government’s intention to address such problems through less liberal licensing laws.

The Alcohol Advisory Group was chaired by Limerick-based solicitor Dr Gordon Holmes, a former chairman of the Garda Síochána Complaints Board. Other members of the group included Garda chief superintendent John Twomey; UCD criminologist Professor Ian O’Donnell, and public health experts Dr Declan Bedford and Robbie Breen.

Its report is also likely to recommend restrictions on the granting of licences to new retail outlets, including supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations seeking permission to sell alcohol. The group has also hinted it is in favour of legislation that would allow off-licences suspected of selling alcohol to underage persons to be tested by teenagers acting on behalf of the authorities.

In an address to the Oireachtas justice committee last month, Dr Holmes described the growing number of outlets allowed to sell alcohol as “worrying”.

Dr Holmes said it was “disturbing” that the courts had never refused an application for an off-licence on the grounds of sufficient existing licences in the same area, despite Garda objections in many cases.

However, he has publicly acknowledged that there are legal difficulties in introducing measures to ban below-cost selling of alcoholic drinks.

A spokesperson for Mr Lenihan said the minister aimed to have the new legislation passed by the end of the Dáil’s summer session.

The Government will also continue to prepare separate plans for the drafting of a comprehensive sale of alcohol bill, which will overhaul existing legislation in this area by repealing various licensing acts.

Last night, a Government source dismissed some media reports that suggested that the legal drinking age might be raised from 18 to 21 across all outlets selling alcohol, including pubs.

However, the same source said the Government was actively considering increasing the age limit in relation to the sale of spirits through off-licences.