Harney defends bid to stop binge-drinking
Plans to replace Ireland’s pub culture with a cafe-style society were tonight defended by the Tanaiste.
Mary Harney denied there was a contradiction between opening the venues and trying to crack down on spiralling problem of binge drinking.
“I do not believe that there is a contradiction between opening more facilities and responsible drinking,” she told the Dail.
“We are not trying to stop people drinking or enjoying alcohol.”
She said the cafe approach – where one person could have a coffee and another person a glass of beer – was an ideal way to encourage responsible drinking.
“They can go to a cafe where both of them can enjoy their preference,” she said.
Cafe-style bars were suggested last week as a way to stamp out excessive drinking.
Delivering its final report, the Commission on Liquor Licensing also proposed an end to late opening on Thursday nights, and said publicans should have the right not to admit those under the age of 18, even if they are not drinking alcohol.
Tonight in the Dail Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton accused the Government of losing credibility in its approach to alcohol.
“We see ministers frequently photographed in pubs and other places of entertainment, that they have extended the opening hours of public houses, that they have expanded the availability of alcohol at every opportunity and they have no credibility in then saying to people that alcohol needs to be curbed,” Mr Bruton said.
“They have lost their credibility in this area.”
He criticised plans to introduce cafe-style bars as a “wild cat card“.
