Tánaiste Mary Harney and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell have denied there is a rift between the Government partners over the proposals to liberalise the licensing laws.
Mr McDowell said this afternoon there was a "very good relationship in the Cabinet at the moment" and said he did not want to comment on the lifetime of the Government.
He also denied he had backed down over the introduction of café-bar licences under Fianna Fáil pressure.
He said: "The vested interests put up such a mountain of flack against a compromise proposal that I’ve decided to be more radical and go for a much more comprehensive approach."
Speaking on RTÉ radio at lunchtime, the Minister confirmed he now plans to deregulate and liberalise the whole restaurant business, allowing restaurants to obtain full drinks licences. Many are currently confined to serving wine. He added he would keep the one-for-one rule on pub licences.
The Tánaiste said that she didn’t accept that the Progressive Democrats had lost out over the issue. "It is in the nature of coalition Government that you win somethings and lose somethings," she said.
The new move by Mr McDowell comes ahead of a private members' motion in the Dáil tomorrow by Fine Gael against the café-bar idea, which had been expected to prompt a number of Fianna Fáil TDs to speak against Mr McDowell's proposals.
Forty-three Fianna Fáil members had already signed up to an internal party motion against the café-bar proposal, which was to see extra licences issued to premises serving alcohol along side food.
Earlier today, the Competition Authority said it supported the issuing of café-bar licences. It pointed out there is no evidence that problems associated with alcohol abuse is worse in areas that have more pubs.
In its submission to the Minister, the group said the current licensing regime is costing the state as much as €1 billion and has, if anything, aggravated inappropriate use of alcohol.
The group said that restrictive on-trade licensing should be changed to allow prices to respond appropriately and freely to demand.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Michael Conaghan, said café-bars had real merit and criticised Fianna Fáil’s lack of debate on the issue.
He said: "Instead of conducting a real debate about the serious issues associated with excessive alcohol consumption and the potential of the new Intoxicating Liquor Act to make a real difference, Fianna Fáil seems more concerned to use the situation to show that the PDs are not their masters."
