No action is being taken to control the abuse of alcohol by young people in the open air, while teenagers are prevented from having a meal with their parents in a pub after 9 p.m., according to the Labour Party spokesman on justice.
Mr Joe Costello called on the Minister for Justice to implement legislation passed more than four years ago to provide for the traceability of alcohol sold from off-licences.
This could contribute far more to dealing with the problem of abuse of alcohol by young people than the banning of teenagers from pubs after 9 p.m., he said.
Much of the abuse of alcohol by young people takes place in the open air, in parks or public spaces, and was creating a problem for many communities, he said. Most of this alcohol originates in off-licences.
Section 17 of the 2000 Intoxicating Liquor Act provided that the name and address of the owner of the off-licence was attached to the label of the alcohol bought there.
However, it was never brought into operation by the former Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, he said.
"Appropriate measures to provide for the traceability of alcohol would be an effective way of ensuring that those who break the law in this regard can be detected and brought to justice," he said."