A Government consumer report shows the Department of Justice has concerns that last year's decision to drop proposals for the liberalisation of the pub trade and the introduction of cafe bars could breach EU laws.
The report of an inter-departmental committee - set up by the Government to examine the recommendations of the Consumer Strategy Group - says the Department of Justice has sought legal advice from the Attorney General.
Last June, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell dropped the cafe bar proposals and opted to reform the restaurant licensing system despite widespread opposition from within Fianna Fáil.
"The Department of Justice informed the committee that it would be necessary to examine whether or not the retention of the extinguishment requirement and decision not to proceed with the cafe bar concept constitute an obstacle to freedom of movement within the EU or if they infringe EC Treaty rights to establishment and freedom to provide services. The matter is under consideration in the Department and the advice of the Attorney General's Office has been sought," the report states. The Department of Justice said last night the Attorney General's opinion was still awaited.
The report says the Competition Authority told the committee the current licensing regime imposed avoidable costs of more than €1 billion on the economy. It says the authority believed the system resulted in higher drink prices, reduced incentive for publicans to innovate and "if anything, aggravated the inappropriate use of alcohol".
"The authority was of the view that by not removing the requirement to extinguish an existing pub licence before issuing a new licence, the proposed legislation represented a missed opportunity for moving towards a regulatory system that worked for society as a whole rather than for a small number of existing businesses", it stated.
Separately, the report reveals that the Department of Health intends, through negotiations, to reduce prescription drug prices.
It says there will be a thorough pharmaco-economic assessment of the benefit of particular drugs to patients. The committee also says the Department will introduce a common remuneration system across all the State reimbursement scheme for drugs.
But the committee disagrees with the Consumer Strategy Report on the need to strengthen the incentive scheme for GPs to prescribe cheaper generic drugs. It says greater use of generic drugs could be achieved at point-of-sale rather than at the point of prescribing.
It also maintained that an obligation on pharmacists to display drug prices would be logistically difficult. But it says the department should ensure through legislation that patients are told of the drug prices when prescriptions are being filled in.
It also recommends that the Department of Transport introduce legislation requiring various operators to share timetabling, route and other information. It says there should also be a levy on transport firms to pay for this central information service.
