Pub spy policy proves it: This government doesn’t have a clue

THE GOVERNMENT has come up with an incredibly original solution to the country’s drink problem.

Pub spy is a new policy which is going to be let loose on unsuspecting publicans all over the place by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, who is taking on the mantle of a latter-day Matt Talbot in his zeal to get the country sober on a Thursday nights at any rate.

Undercover gardaí are to engage in "covert" operations and video cameras are to be used in a crackdown on this major problem country within the next few weeks.

Michael McDowell is to rush through legislation within six weeks whereby an extraordinary array of measures will be introduced to combat the dreaded drink, and they will largely prove futile.

The Minister said that the time will arrive when gardaí will come with hand-held videos and if people are "tottering" out of pubs drunk, and the licensee appears to be responsible for that, then in these cases they will face closure of their premises.

Closing time on Thursday nights will be brought back from 12.30am to 11.30pm, and under-21s will have to carry identification to prove their age.

And after the case in Cobh District Court on Wednesday, where a skipper was convicted of being drunk in charge of a trawler, the garda sub-aqua club will presumably have to patrol our harbours to ensure that this historic prosecution is not repeated.

Nobody can deny that there are serious problems caused by the excessive consumption of alcohol in this country, but the Government hasn't a clue what to do about it. What Minister McDowell proposes under the Intoxicating Liquor Bill is ludicrous to a large extent.

What difference will be made by knocking an hour off opening time on a Thursday? Not a lot, if anything at all.

Anybody over 21 years, but who looks younger, will not be required to carry ID, so they're going to get nothing but hassle in a pub, as well as no drink.

And then there's the question of under-cover gardaí. How does a government which couldn't deliver on an extra 2,000 gardaí as they promised in their election manifesto, propose to implement this? Maybe they can repeat the impressive performance of last weekend when they managed to pluck 42m out of the air to allow Minister for Education Noel Dempsey climb back down to the real world.

On the other hand, Michael McDowell is one of the Progressive Democrats and because they seemingly can dictate policy at the Cabinet table, maybe it just could happen. However, if they do come up with extra garda resources, which I doubt, it's unlikely that the general populace would appreciate them spending all their time in pubs.

The only good point to come out of Michael McDowell's most recent pronouncement is that he has woken up to the fact that the equality legislation has been used by some people to line their pockets by taking publicans to the Equality Tribunal on some very mischievous grounds.

In future, he intends that such cases of alleged discrimination would go before the District Court where the standard of proof is usually more rigorous.

He maintains, correctly, that this change is necessary because it was wrong for publicans to face punishment and loss of licence in the District Court for admitting certain people to their premises, while facing punishment before the Equality Commission for not admitting certain people.

This conundrum is solved by letting the one body adjudicate in all matters relating to liquor licensing.

Ever since the equality legislation was introduced, publicans, as well as hotels, have been targeted by some people who have used the law for purposes other than those for which it was intended.

It was seen as a convenient vehicle with which to extract thousands of euro by unscrupulous people, something which was recognised by the Minister when he said there was evidence some of these cases had been "contrived" solely for the purpose of getting compensation.

Naturally, he has been criticised for closing off this handy little earner.

The chief executive of the Equality Authority, Mr Niall Crowley, said the loss of the tribunal would mean the loss of specialised expertise, of a wider right of audience and access to vulnerable groups. The authority is to be given a role under Mr McDowell's proposals in bringing cases to the District Court.

Mr Martin Collins, spokesman for the Travellers' centre, Pavee Point, said the proposals demonstrated the huge influence vintners had on politicians.

The Labour Party spokesman on justice, Mr Joe Costello, said the proposed change was "contrary to the principle and thrust of the equality legislation".

APART altogether from the question of dodgy equality cases, it would now seem that in the future publicans will recover the right to protect normal customers from unsavoury characters, from whatever level of society they crawl out of.

Incidentally, the speed with which the Government intends to enact the Intoxicating Liquor Bill into law gives an interesting glimpse of their priorities.

Mr McDowell said he hoped these measures would be enacted before the Dáil rises for the summer just about six weeks from now. Contrast what they're doing about the vital United Nations treaty on the rights of the disabled.

Absolutely nothing.

In the year that this country is hosting the Special Olympics, the biggest sporting event in the world this year and the first time it will be held outside the US, the Irish Government is preventing the implementation of the treaty.

The same Minister for Justice was more concerned about closing the pubs an hour earlier on a Thursday night than attending a Dáil committee which was inquiring into the reasons why Ireland is stalling on the treaty.

Incredibly, and considering that we are hosting the Special Olympics, this is the only country in the EU which has set its face against the draft UN treaty which could change the lives of countless millions of people with disabilities all over the world.

The shame is that the Government stance has nothing other than avoiding spending money at its root.

The current FF/PD conglomeration has an appallingly bad track record when it comes to providing facilities and resources for people with special needs. They promise the earth, moon and stars and then insist that people have to go to the High Court to try and realise them despite the fact they should be basic and fundamental rights.

It is symptomatic of their indifference to public opinion, that they could refuse to sign up to the UN treaty even in this year of the Special Olympics.

The beleaguered Minister for Health Mícheál Martin was hitting the drink as well this week metaphorically speaking and what he proposes could be somewhat more effective that his colleague in Justice.

He intends to limit alcohol advertising to ensure ads don't appeal to children or adolescents, ban drinks industry sponsorship of children's and adolescents' leisure time activities, and introduce a watershed on radio, television and cinema, reducing the exposure of children to alcohol advertising.

I don't think he will get too far with the GAA which he criticised for taking sponsorship from Guinness for the All-Ireland hurling.