532. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the role his Department has undertaken in consulting on, or drafting, the proposed Sale of Alcohol Bill. [15372/23] 

533. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth whether his Department has drafted analysis of the proposed Sale of Alcohol Bill; and if he will publish same. [15374/23] 

Roderic O'Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: I propose to take Questions Nos. 532 and 533 together. 

Officials from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth have been in contact with the Department of Justice regarding section 19 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act. The issue is being considered as part of the ongoing review of the Equality Acts. Officials have been working on the report of the submissions to the public consultation on the review of the Equality Acts, and it is due to be published in the coming weeks. Further consultation is also being considered on issues that were raised in the consultation and it is hoped to bring some legislative proposals forward later this year. 

557. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice if consultation has been undertaken with the Ombudsman for Children in relation to the proposed Sale of Alcohol Bill. [15373/23] 

Simon Harris, Minister for Justice: Following extensive consultation with representative bodies in the licensed trade, businesses, public health bodies, consumers and communities, the General Scheme of the Sale of Alcohol Bill was published on the 25th of October. It marks the Government’s commitment to the reform and streamlining of licensing laws to support and stimulate the night time economy. 

On 25 November 2021, Minister McEntee launched a public consultation to seek the views of the public on the modernisation of Ireland’s licencing laws. 

The consultation, which ran until 21 January 2022, looked at how best to update the existing laws governing the sale and regulation of alcohol in Ireland. Members of the public, academics, sectoral groups and representative organisations were invited to complete an online survey and/or make a written submission to the Department. There was a high level of response to the consultation, with in excess of 5,000 responses received. Submissions were received from alcohol-related harm advocacy groups as part of the consultation. 

The Department reviewed these responses to ensure the reform of the legislation takes account of and is informed by this engagement. A report on the responses received together with a selection of the submissions were published on 7 November 2022. 

On 10 March 2022, Minister McEntee also hosted a consultation webinar and panel discussion event on reform of the alcohol licensing laws to give an opportunity for further discussion of the issues of concern to stakeholders. 

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice conducted two pre-legislative scrutiny sessions on the draft legislation, the first on 24 January 2023 and the second on January 31 2023. Academics, sectoral groups and representative organisations were invited to contribute to these sessions. Representatives from Alcohol Action Ireland, the Institute of Public Health and the Irish Community Action of Alcohol Network took part in the second of the pre-legislative scrutiny sessions. The Committee published their report on 2 March 2023. 

The Bill will maintain the prohibition on the sale of alcohol to children; to do so will be a criminal offence. The Bill will also restrict the access of children to licensed premises, and provide a full range of enforcement powers to An Garda Síochána. 

Specific consultation has not been undertaken with the Ombudsman for Children. However, officials in the Department of Justice continue to engage with various public and voluntary health bodies.