Licensed Wisdom XXVII
“I am speaking as a lifelong pioneer who has never taken a drink, but this bill goes too far and as such it is going to have many unintended consequences. I support the concept of reducing alcohol consumption, but we are throwing the baby out with the bathwater in our excessive attempts to tackle a problem.” – Tony McLoughlin, Fine Gael TD for Sligo Leitrim, during Dáil debate on the Alcohol Bill.
“Balance is a word lost in this bill” – Eamon Scanlon, Fianna Fáil TD for Sligo-Leitrim, in debating the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill in the Dáil.
“If people want to watch a match on TV and have a beer, why would they want to come to us and spend €5 for a bottle of beer when they can stay at home and watch it with a bottle of beer that costs €1 in a supermarket?
Pubs need to provide something that people can’t get elsewhere.” – Ross Murray of the Murray Pub Group in AIB’s Pub Outlook report.
“If they go well we’ll start having a hard look again and try and convince the property owners of the Republic to take very low bids from us – I’m sure they’ll be all ears.” – JD Wetherspoon Chairman Tim Martin speaking about Wetherspoon’s latest two Dublin ventures and the possibility of expanding on from them in an interview with Gavin McLoughlin in the Irish Independent recently.
