Sir, - In your leading article (February 1st) concerning the licensed drinks trade, you expressed the hope that, following its inquiry, the Competition Authority would recommend many new pub licences, freedom of all restaurants to have a full licence, and an enlightened approach to closing time for nightclubs and sports clubs. This was because the licensing laws were one of the great nonsenses of our time.
The Authority's predecessor, the Restrictive Practices Commission, prepared a report on competition in the licensed drink trade in June 1977, and it was published that year. While accepting that there was collusion by publicans in pricing, the Commission found that the licensing laws were unnecessarily restrictive, they distorted the structure of the trade, and enhanced operating costs and prices. It called for the introduction of a more rational licensing system.
The Commission recommended ending the artificial and costly grade in pub licences, by scrapping the requirement to extinguish an existing licence to get a new one. Applications for new licences should be based on specific criteria, which should not include expressly anticompetitive provisions such as proximity and detrimental effects on neighbouring pub premises. The task should be given to a licensing body or bodies, not the courts. The same procedures should be followed for off licences. This would lead to an adjustment of numbers of premises to correspond with circumstances, leading to an increase in, urban, especially city, areas.
The Commission also recommended the extension of full licensing to restaurants which met certain criteria. So that all competing establishments should be treated equally, the powers of guards to enter clubs should be the same as their powers to enter, pub. The Commission considered hours of trading to be outside its terms of reference.
This advice was not followed, except for the introduction of restrictive and unsatisfactory arrangements for full restaurant licences. I trust that my successors on the Competition Authority will have more luck than their predecessors had regarding competition in the drinks trade 20 years ago, and in other sectors more recently, - Yours, etc.,
(Former Chairman of the Competition Authority and member of the Restrictive Practices Commission),
Somersby Road,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.