McDowell defends law banning minors from pubs after 9 p.m.

The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has defended the introduction of new measures banning minors from pubs at night, which came into effect last night.

Under the new laws anyone under 18 years of age will not be permitted to be in a bar in a pub or hotel after 9 p.m. Others will be required to produce photographic proof of age before being admitted to a bar. Bars will also close at 11.30 p.m. on Thursday nights, rather than 12.30 a.m.

Those opposed to the new laws claim they will have a detrimental effect on tourism. Mr McDowell yesterday told RTÉ Radio 1 he believed the "new regime" is reasonable and will work.

"Anyone who is running a pub at which meals are served, and there are many of them in Ireland, all they have to do is separate a portion of their premises for the consumption of family meals, separate it from the bar, and there is no problem at all."

Minors would be permitted to stay on at private functions once a meal was being served.

Mr McDowell said that earlier this year when a number of high-profile alcohol related public order incidents came to light he had been accused of "doing nothing". Now that he has acted he was being accused of "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut".

It was necessary to ban under 18-year-olds after 9 p.m. because if they were permitted to remain on a "crazy situation" would arise where doormen were asking for proof of age cards, while teenagers were already on the premises. Such an arrangement would give rise to an unworkable situation where gardaí calling to a pub would be forced to determine which teenagers were "drinking the alco-pops and who's drinking the minerals".