The latest Opposition charge against the Government, among the many flying of late, is that it has a preoccupation with drink. There were late sittings of the Dail this week to clear the legislative backlog before the summer recess at the end of June and while FG leader John Bruton had no problem staying late some nights, he wondered about the urgency surrounding the passage of the Intoxicating Liquor Bill. "Given that the Government spends a great deal of time talking about how much it opposes intoxicants of other kinds, why is such great priority being given to facilitating the consumption of this form of intoxicant?" he asked. Ah, said Pat Rabbitte, "it's the only hope we have."
Bertie Ahern countered that FG had been pressing him for weeks to have the Bill passed before the summer. But Bruton, aware that the Minister for Justice, John O'Donoghue, is responsible, said: "There is a sort of zero tolerance of maximum tolerance."
Then election speculation raised its head from FG's Michael Finucane. "The Government," he said, "does not have to go to closing time."