There was a mixed reaction to the proposed new drink legislation yesterday. While broadly welcomed by the Vintners' Federation of Ireland and the children's charity Barnardos, Opposition spokesmen said it did not go far enough.
The Fine Gael spokesman on justice, Mr John Deasy, said: "After years of tortuous deliberation in the media by Government Ministers we have ended up with a series of half measures that will not go far enough in tackling this massive problem of alcohol abuse and street violence."
He described the proposal to allow publicans to raise the minimum age for drinking in their premises above 18 as a "Pauline conversion on the road to Ranelagh", referring to Mr McDowells's statement in the Dáil that if people had the right to vote they had the right to go for a drink.
The Labour Party spokesman on justice, Mr Joe Costello, said he welcomed the proposals as far as they went, but would have expected more. "I would have thought that the proposals would have been more robust and part of a more coherent package," he said. "There are no proposals for a codification of the law."
He also said that the proposals on advertising did not clearly address the targeting of young people by alcohol advertisers. He said the issue of alleged discrimination by publicans should be left with the Equality Tribunal, and that transferring it to the District Court was contrary to the principles of the equality legislation.
However, the chairman of the Oireachtas Health Committee and Fianna Fáil TD, Mr Batt O'Keeffe, welcomed the proposals to restrict alcohol advertising and reduce drunken behaviour.
The Vintners' Federation also gave the proposals a broad welcome, especially the proposals to demand ID to curb under-age drinking, and the transfer of alleged discrimination cases from the Equality Tribunal to the District Court.
The children's charity, Barnardos, which has been conducting a campaign highlighting the effect of excessive drinking on families, also welcomed many of the proposals.
In particular they welcomed those aimed at under-age drinking, the prohibition on promotional practices likely to lead to excessive drinking, the decision to bring back Thursday closing time to 11.30 p.m., and the proposed restrictions on alcohol advertising.