3rd August 2021
2nd July Highland Radio Broadcast
The highlighted topic this morning was the government approved legislation to clarify the situation around outdoor drinking. Seamus Gunn was not impressed at the manner in which this became an issue stating that outdoor eating was promoted, advertised and supported by government over an extended period and yet they did not foresee the difficulty with the Licensing Laws that in the majority of situations the license did not extend to the outdoor area being used for the consumption of alcohol. He referenced the point that the area in which the alcohol would be consumed should be in accordance with the licensing map which he said would usually incorporate the premises and in certain situations outdoor areas but not public footpaths as these were under the control of the local authorities. He foreseen a difficulty with insurance indemnity in respect of issues that may arise outside of the premises and in particular cover for such activity. He strongly recommended that proprietors should confirm cover with their insurers. Gregg Hughes highlighted an example where an incident such as a fight could arise outside of a premises at these locations and in particular the insurance implications.
Seamus Gunn stressed that the bill came before cabinet at the beginning of the week and was yet to be passed into law but was expected. He was not impressed with the matter being left to the Gardai to apply discretion. He said that proprietors were trying to do their best in very difficult circumstances and were acting in good faith and were likely to have complied with the street furniture regulations. He said that the licensing legislation was a labyrinth of acts going back to the late 19th century and recently updated in 2000. They were quite clear in defining the licensed area and at all times it was foreseeable that this issue was going to arise, and legislation should have been addressed before now.
One of our most varied Q & A to date this year then followed.
Listen to the full interview below:
Part 1 –
Part 2 –
25th June 2021
4th June 2021 – Highland Radio Broadcast
Our 6th remote show of the year started with the controversy over the report from the Commission of Investigations into the Mother and Baby homes which came into the public domain in recent months. This discussion was prompted by Dr. Maeve O’Rourke’s, the Director of Human Rights Law Clinic at the Irish Centre for Human Rights and lecturer at NUI Galway, call on the government to repudiate the findings of the report following the disclosure by the member of the Commission, Professor Mary Daly early in the week at an academic gathering in Oxford, of the rationale for not including the voices of the victims and in particular their stories in the report.
She put it down to the terms of reference of the commission and placed particular emphasis on the fact that the testimony, which had been given by some 550 survivors, was not sworn testimony under oath and therefore could not be used. Seamus Gunn reminded Greg Hughes that the Oireachtas committee had been attempting for some time to have the members of the commission appear before it to answer questions on the report. He said that it showed a lack of sensitivity to the survivors who had gone to great pains to tell their story and had hoped that they would now be recorded in the report. He thought that it was unacceptable for Professor Daly to address this outside the jurisdiction. He also explained that under the legislation that had set up the commission there was an onus that the report should have been circulated to the survivors for their observations before it was finalised as it was to the religious orders but that this had not happened. He said that there was an “inequality of arms” in that those against whom wrongdoing was alleged had full legal representation, while survivors had none. He said notwithstanding this, they had appeared before the commission in good faith with the hope of bringing some finality to the enquiry which has been ongoing for some 6 years. Greg Hughes asked as to what the likely outcome was going forward to which our contributor thought that it was further delay and at best a repudiation of the report, which would be a step in the right direction. He was of the view that this matter will gain further traction in the media as the pressure builds to appear before the Oireachtas committee.
One of our most varied Q & A to date this year then followed.
Listen to the full interview below: