Irish minister calls for café society to beat binge-drinking

The Irish pub is a celebrated institution around the world, inspiring theme bars from America to Australia and Argentina. But now an Irish minister, alarmed by what drink is doing to the country's young people, is attempting to revolutionise his nation's fabled drinking habits.

Michael McDowell, the Justice Minister, wants to encourage a new type of establishment on the continental model, in the hope that smaller premises will reduce excesses which are causing national concern. The government wants to ensure "that young people do not drink themselves into oblivion, and that we tackle the negative social and health effects of the Irish love affair with alcohol".

The café-bars will be limited in size and obliged to sell food as well as drink.

Mr McDowell has, however, run into stiff opposition from government backbenchers, many of whom are themselves publicans. This week will see an attempt to stop the plan in its tracks.

One of the publicans' groups complains that "such social engineering is impractical and impossible". Of the continental approach, a spokesman added: "There is no demand so nobody rushes to meet that demand." He dismissed the idea as "a lovely, romantic notion". And one individualist politician thought it a utopian notion that "the Irish people were going to drink cappuccinos and eat croissants".

Mr McDowell and much of the public want to encourage Irish youth to drink less and cut down on "bingeing". This is a familiar phenomenon in many countries including the UK but Irish teens are at the very top of the European binge-drinking league. That applies to girls as well as boys. Against the backdrop of the fastest growing economy in Europe, Ireland has had the highest increase in alcohol consumption among EU countries.

"We have a very drink-friendly culture," said Stephen Rowen, director of Dublin's Rutland Centre for alcohol treatment. "It's considered very cool for young people to drink to get intoxicated - not just to have a drink or two to get a little escapism. They drink to get buzzed, blitzed, blocked."

The drinks industry acknowledges there is serious alcohol abuse but rejects what it describes as the popular perception of itself as "a malevolent industry hellbent on using advertising to push its products". It describes some media coverage as "characterised by hysterical over-reaction".

It is beyond argument, however, that a surfeit of alcohol contributes to rowdyism, nuisance and often outright violence.

Last month the Prime Minister Bertie Ahern told the Irish parliament that up to a third of patients arriving at hospital accident and emergency units were under the influence. On weekend nights this rises to 75 per cent.

A Dublin A&E consultant Edward Brazil said: "I worked in Britain for seven years and I've been here for three years and it's been awful - much worse than anything in Britain."

A new Bill will streamline and modernise liquor laws which date back as far as 1833 and include 600 licensing provisions scattered over some 100 statutes.

The authorities are worried about the rise of enormous "super-pubs". Mr McDowell said: "When large numbers of people emerge from these premises at closing time, there is inevitably an increased risk of public disorder. We have seen the alarming effects of this on our streets in recent years."

Theproposed café-bars would have a new type of licence limiting their size to 130 square metres and forbidding any extension of opening hours. Mr McDowell explained: "We want a scenario where people can have a pizza with a pint instead of drinking themselves senseless. That needs a cultural shift in this country in our approach to alcohol consumption."