The Government has set an ambitious target of just six weeks to enact measures to curb alcohol abuse, including making it illegal to serve drink to people who are drunk and a ban on under-18s entering pubs after 8 p.m.
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, said yesterday he hoped a new Bill containing these measures would be enacted before the Dáil rises for the summer.
This would depend, however, on achieving all-party support in the Dáil and Seanad for the measures, he said.
The Bill proposes making publicans responsible for the conduct of drinkers on their premises, allowing plain-clothes gardaí to engage in covert monitoring in bars, banning "drink as much as you can" and "happy hour" promotions, bringing Thursday closing time back an hour to 11.30 p.m., and allowing temporary closure orders to be served on premises violating the law.
Mr McDowell said he wanted to "bring home to licensees in particular that premises will be closed if they serve people who are drunk".
However, in a move that has prompted criticism, he is proposing that the Equality Authority no longer adjudicate in cases where discrimination is alleged against a license holder.
Instead, such cases would go before the District Court where the standard of proof is generally higher.
Mr McDowell said he was proposing this change because it was wrong for publicans to face punishment and loss of licence in the District Court for admitting certain people to their premises, while facing punishment before the Equality Commission for not admitting certain people.
He believed it was right for one body - the District Court - to adjudicate in all matters relating to liquor licensing.
The proposed change follows complaints from the licensed trade about some decisions of the Equality Tribunal, and Mr McDowell maintained yesterday that there was evidence some of these cases had been "contrived" solely for the purpose of getting compensation.
However, the president of the Human Rights Commission, Dr Maurice Manning, told The Irish Times that the commission had already written to the Minister urging him not to change the jurisdiction for discrimination cases.
The chief executive of the Equality Authority, Mr Niall Crowley, said the loss of the tribunal would mean the loss of specialised expertise, of a wider right of audience and access to vulnerable groups. The authority is to be given a role under Mr McDowell's proposals in bringing cases to the District Court.
Mr Martin Collins, spokesman for the Travellers' centre, Pavee Point, said the proposals demonstrated the huge influence vintners had on politicians.
The Labour Party spokesman on justice, Mr Joe Costello, said the proposed change was "contrary to the principle and thrust of the equality legislation".
A separate Bill being prepared by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, will impose strict limits on the advertising of alcohol. This Bill will limit where alcohol advertising can be placed, ensure such ads don't appeal to children or adolescents, ban drinks industry sponsorship of children's and adolescents' leisure time activities, and introduce a "watershed" on radio, television and cinema, reducing the exposure of children to alcohol advertising.
Criticising the major sponsorship deal the GAA has with Guinness, he said: "I believe Guinness supporting All-Ireland hurling is the wrong message to be sending out to the young people of this country. Alcohol should not be associated with sporting success."
Mr Martin said his legislation would prevent the location of alcohol advertising near schools and on public transport.
He said alcohol-related problems cost the State €2.4 billion per year.
Fine Gael's justice spokesman, Mr John Deasy, said there had been "years of tortuous deliberation" in the media by ministers, leading to "a series of half measures that will not go far enough in tackling this massive problem of alcohol abuse and street violence".