Licensing reforms - Expert view on café bars is important

Dr Ann Hope, National Alcohol Policy Adviser at the Department of Health and the Government’s main advisor on alcohol, has warned that forthcoming legislation to permit cafés to sell alcohol will exacerbate drinking problems.

This is instead of curbing binge drinking, which will purportedly be the aim of Justice Minister Michael McDowell in introducing an Intoxicating Liquor Bill later this year.

Café bars will be intended to promote more responsible drinking, such as on the Continent, where people tend to drink more responsibly without engaging in the kind of binge drinking that has become popular among young people in this country, especially since the advent of the Celtic Tiger economy.