CATHERINE SHERIDAN,
Sir, - I refer to the article "Booze Nation" (Weekend, September 21st), and in particular to its references to the Commission on Liquor Licensing.
Your writer says that the commission "rejects social sanctions and is neo-liberal, extending licensing hours and placing responsibility on the individual." This is untrue.
To date, the commission has published two reports. The first records unanimity among the commission members regarding the need to protect the public from the harm caused by alcohol. This view has informed various recommendations of the commission: the immediate establishment of a Strategic Task Force on Alcohol; the introduction of restrictions in relation to particular licences such as nightclubs and theatres; more rigorous enforcement of the law; a review of advertising controls.
On the question of trading hours, the commission indicated in its second report that it would be improper of it to reconsider them since they had been introduced by the Oireachtas in 2000 but recommended that "the consequences of the increased opening hours .... be reviewed regularly".
In summary, the comments in your article were incorrect and it is difficult to see how they could have been made by anyone who had read the commission's reports. - Yours, etc.,
CATHERINE SHERIDAN, Secretary to the Commission on Liquor Licensing, Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin 2.