Liquor licensing must remain with the courts - Parsley

2.24.00pm GMT Wed 1st Feb 2006

Alliance Councillor Ian James Parsley has said it is imperative that control of liquor licensing remains with the courts. His call comes in the wake of moves to pass control to new councils under the Review of Administration.

Speaking in a debate at North Down Borough Council, Cllr Parsley stated:

"The courts are the place in which control of liquor licensing must rest, as they are the only place where people can be satisfied that the system is genuinely and wholly independent. Passing this burden on to Councils would mean allocating time and financial resources which would be best spent elsewhere.

"Passing control to councils would inevitably lead to a takeover of our town centres by larger pub chains. Do we really want identikit town centres across Northern Ireland? This would essentially bring Northern Ireland exactly into line with England - binge drinking culture and all. At a time when Government claims to want to tackle that culture, why is it suggesting laws that would encourage it? This would all be an intolerable price to pay.

"Furthermore, we must not ignore the re-investment that many local publicans put back into the local economy. This would be entirely lost if our urban centres were taken over by chains with no local interest.

"Publicans are not remotely afraid of fair competition - but they are afraid of unfair competition. Local businesses must be given a fair chance if the Government is to make true its objective of a stronger Northern Ireland economy that can afford to pay its own way. Placing an insurmountable burden on small businesses locally is no way to achieve

that."

ENDS