Sir, - Following the Competition Authority's recommendation that the pub market be almost completely deregulated, I feel it is timely and appropriate for the relevant public authorities to review the standards and facilities in many of the existing public houses the length and breadth of our country. In most of these, the emphasis on hygiene is not very apparent and toilet facilities are certainly sub-standard.
As someone who has also witnessed at first hand the distress and chaos caused by alcohol abuse in the workplace and home, I feel it is high time to fully address the causes and effects of the current level and manner of alcohol consumption in this country.
Any future developments in the liquor industry must, to my mind, be accompanied by a greater emphasis on education, respect and tolerance! - Yours, etc., Peter Gaughan,
Monkstown, Co Dublin.