Plans by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell to give drinks licences to cafe-bars have been criticised by the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which claims the proposal will only increase alcohol consumption.
In a submission to the Minister yesterday, the IMO, which represents nearly 6,000 doctors, said the changes would lead to increased availability of alcohol through more outlets and distance sales.
It would also, it claimed, lead to a strengthening of the links between alcohol consumption and sporting events, and an increase in alcohol-related problems such as public disorder, suicide, fatal road accidents, house fires and drink-related attendances at A&Es.
"We have serious concerns that your proposed legislation is going to make matters worse vis a vis our national alcohol problem.
"Public debate on the Bill has centred on the creation of a cafe culture in Ireland. This would be desirable but your legislation will not bring this about," the submission said.
"Further deregulation of the sale of alcohol will be the inevitable result of your legislation. There is a widely-acknowledged problem with superpubs in the country, and we believe you share the concern. The proposed legislation will not address this issue, which we believe is a missed opportunity."
IMO public health specialist Dr Joe Barry, who is also a member of the national alcohol taskforce, said Mr McDowell's attempt to change Ireland's drinking culture would fail with his Intoxicating Liquor Bill, as the Bill would only result in greater availability of alcohol.
"If you wanted to reduce binge drinking you would do things like curtailing superpubs, but he is actually doing nothing active to do that."
He urged the Minister to take on board the recommendations of the Government-appointed strategic taskforce on alcohol, which called for restrictions on the numbers of outlets that could sell alcohol.
However, Mr McDowell said he did not agree with the IMO's viewpoint.
"Where there was a restricted number of licences the amount of alcohol consumption in Ireland went up by 41 per cent."
He described some of the IMO's views as fanciful.
"For instance, the suggestion that by providing cafe-bars where food and drink are provided together is going to lead to an increase in suicide and house fires; this is the kind of overblown argument which doesn't really do them any credit."
He believed the move towards cafe-bars was the way to break the binge-drinking culture among young people in Ireland.
"We are putting up an alternative to young people in Ireland that they don't have to go out and have six or eight pints in an evening and/or fat frogs or alcopops or whatever else, and get scuttered drunk; that there is an alternative, and that is that they can go and have a pizza, much as they do on the continent."