People who abuse alcohol must take responsibility for their actions instead of blaming publicans, the Vintners' Federation of Ireland (VFI) said yesterday.
Mr Tadgh O'Sullivan, VFI chief executive, said everyone was blaming everyone else for the problem of excessive drinking. "But if I drink too much and cause damage, then I am responsible for that and I must accept the consequences," he said.
Mr O'Sullivan was speaking at the VFI's 30th annual conference in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
Publicans recognised their responsibility to tackle excessive alcohol consumption but they could not tackle the problem on their own, he said. "Support is needed from legislators, the Government, gardaí and parents, while those abusing and misusing alcohol need to take their share of responsibility," he said.
The drinks industry had its faults but the VFI had never endorsed cheap promotions which encouraged excessive drinking.
"Some advertisements leave a lot to be desired and the practice of having brewery representatives on college campuses is no longer acceptable. 'Happy hours' and cheap promotions serve only to bring the industry and the products into disrepute," Mr O'Sullivan said.
"We believe that any activity that encourages excessive consumption of alcohol needs to be treated seriously and severely. A licensee that engages in deep discounting or price promotions that encourage binge-drinking should face challenges to the renewal of their licence."
He also said publicans were still hopeful that some compromise could be worked out between the industry and the Minister for Health on the planned ban on smoking in pubs. The ban is due to be introduced in January, but Mr O'Sullivan said a "reasonable compromise" was still possible.
The division of pubs into smoking and non-smoking areas was one option, he said, while publicans had already made great strides in improving air-quality systems.
The VFI has more than 6,000 members from around the State and rural communities would be worst hit if the ban was introduced as planned, he said.
The federation has also called for "urgent changes" to the Equal Status Act 2000, so that publicans would be entitled to remove children from their premises after 7 p.m.
"We do not believe three- or four-year-old children should be running around a pub at 11 o'clock at night," Mr O'Sullivan said.
Last year, in the case of John Maughan v The Glimmerman, Dublin, an equality officer ruled that publicans must serve people accompanied by their children aged under 18. Mr Maughan, a visually impaired Traveller, had been refused service in the evening when accompanied by his 13-year-old son.
Mr O'Sullivan said publicans had received "widespread support from the public and the media" in the aftermath of this case.
"The infamous Glimmerman case highlighted the flaws and inadequacies inherent in the Equal Status Act 2000 which urgently needs to be changed," he said,. "The majority of people agree that publicans are not baby-sitters."
This stance by publicans was in the interests of children and was on moral grounds. "Pubs are no place for children late at night when they can be crowded and noisy and it is essentially an adults-only environment."
People were bringing young children into pubs and telling publicans they could not stop them because of the Glimmerman ruling, Mr O'Sullivan said. Publicans were afraid to refuse and needed clarity on this issue.
The VFI also called for the urgent enactment of legislation supporting publicans' rights to refuse service. It wants the establishment of a tribunal to hear claims of discrimination by publicans.
However, Mr Niall Crowley, Equality Authority chief executive, said there was no question that the publicans' right to refuse service was being damaged by equality legislation. "The legislation already favours publicans," he said. "It is the use of discrimination when refusing service that is at issue here."
