Pressure to relax the ban on children in pubs after 9 p.m is intensifying after the Minister for Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, said he had raised the issue with the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell.
Mr O'Donoghue is believed to favour a change in the regime but said yesterday he did not want to engage in "megaphone diplomacy" with Mr McDowell.
"Obviously it's a matter for him and the Government to consider in due course. I don't want to become involved in megaphone diplomacy with him in relation to the issue but it is a concern within the tourism industry," Mr O'Donoghue said.
He had been lobbied by the pub industry and understood the concern expressed that the ban on under-18s in pubs after 9 p.m was damaging business, he said.
"I have received representations from the catering industry who are also involved with the bar trade right across the country and I have communicated those to the justice minister," he said.
"I understood those concerns because those concerns have been made very, very clear to me, in particular in my own constituency."
Mr O'Donoghue's Department indicated that the measure was under review in a response to a Freedom of Information request from The Irish Times. The Department refused to release letters between Mr O'Donoghue and Mr McDowell "on the basis that the correspondence is part of an ongoing deliberative process".
A spokeswoman for Mr McDowell said he was willing to consider alternatives that would meet his objective of preventing underage drinking in pubs. While nothing was ruled in or out, she said there was no current proposals to relax the ban in a new Bill to consolidate all liquor licensing legislation.
Records released under the Freedom of Information Act show that Mr O'Donoghue received four submissions about the ban last month and one in May. One unidentified person from Co Mayo said early in July that the ban was causing concern in the tourist resort at Achill.
"We are finding that families who normally come to Achill for a few days over the summer holiday period are now taking continental holidays as they can bring their children with them into pubs in the evening and night times," the person wrote.
In reply, Mr O'Donoghue said: "You can rest assured that I have noted your comments and will pass your sentiments on to Mr McDowell TD, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in relation to this matter."
Meanwhile, representatives of the hotel industry said they are still awaiting a response from Mr McDowell two months after making a series of compromise proposals on the ban.
The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), which made the proposals, claimed that the original intention of the legislation - to combat underage drinking - was not meeting with any success and was jeopardising the family tourist market. It has also called for a compulsory identification card scheme to address the underage drinking problem.
Yesterday a Garda spokesman said that there had been no prosecutions taken in relation to children being in a bar after 9 p.m.
The Vintners Federation of Ireland, which represents publicans from around the country, said that its compromise suggestions, which also include an identification card scheme, had been ignored by the Government.
It suggested that the ban be changed to 10.30p.m. during summer months.
Mr Dick Burke, general manager of the Jurys Doyle group, and president of the IHF, said that the hotel sector had suffered a significant drop in business because of the new laws.
"There is no question about it, particularly in resort areas where families on holiday will often gather together at the end of the day in the licensed area of a premises."