Urgent need to reform drink laws

THE compelling reasoning behind the report of the Liquor Licensing Commission shows beyond doubt that Ireland’s outdated drink laws are in need of radical reform.

To say the country is in the grip of a drink crisis would be an understatement. More than any other single factor, excessive drinking is to blame for an explosion of crime, casual violence and rape plaguing society.

Every weekend, accident and emergency wards resemble war zones, with nurses and doctors regularly assaulted by drunken people.