CATHERINE LYNCH,
Madam, - In other European countries, such as Spain and France, opening hours are long, alcohol is cheap and practically tax free, and available to teenagers. Yet people do not as a rule drink until they can no longer stand up.
Closing pubs earlier, higher taxes and increased policing of underage drinking do not appear to be the answer to our culturally embedded and worsening drinking problem. Yet, serious problems do emanate from the licensing laws in this country.
The Irish licensing laws, which restrict the number of licensed premises, have served to make the small, local pub, where people went to chat and to have a drink, a thing of the past, especially in Dublin. Most pubs in Dublin's city centre are drinking factories. Most cater for hundreds of people. Most raise the volume of the music so that people will chat less and drink more. In most, it is so difficult to get a drink on Friday and Saturday night, that the minute you buy one drink, you are worried about buying your next.
Drinking factories have no friendly barmen. The owner is rarely there, and neither does he care. Drinking factories, like supermarket chains, are impersonal businesses. Huge turnovers are required (or desired) to pay back the artificially high price that owners have paid for the licence.
In other countries, anyone with a small amount of capital can open a bar, where they can make a living catering for a small number of regular customers. Customers can talk while they drink, they are often friendly with the bar staff and the atmosphere is conducive to finishing one drink before the next six are ordered. The worsening drink problem here appears to coincide with the baby boomers coming of age and the advent of the drinking factories to cater for them. I suggest that competition be introduced into the market, the local bar re-introduced, chains outlawed and drinking factories closed down. - Yours, etc.,
CATHERINE LYNCH, Howth, Co Dublin.
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Madam, - Like everyone who watched the recent Prime Time programme on alcohol and young people, I was horrified.
The drinks industry has come in for a lot of criticism and deservedly so. It seems to have learnt from the old Jesuit saying, "Show me the child and I'll show you the man".
So too have sporting organisations which foster links between sport and young people. But what about the local sports clubs run by locals who promote an ethos of health and teamwork during the week? At weekends the same clubs organise dances for young people who are too young to get into pubs.
The signal this sends out to adolescents must be confusing.
Late at night young people spill out into cities and towns across the country, barely able to stand.
The link between sport and drink is deep-rooted and is forged at an early age. The local clubs must take responsibility, along with everyone else. The clubs obviously need the money generated, but at what price? - Yours, etc.,
Cllr CHRIS ANDREWS, City Hall, Dublin 2.