Legalise lock-ins?
A group of publicans is pushing the Government for extended opening hours for bars and nightclubs in rural areas hit hard by the pandemic. Is it time to...
RURAL publicans are lobbying for nightclub hours as the industry emerges from two years of stringent restrictions on trade, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
In a private submission to Justice Minister Helen McEntee, a group of venue owners calling themselves ‘Nightlife Beyond the Capital’ proposes an extension to the serving of alcohol in late bars to 2.30am.
They also say rural nightclubs should now be allowed to open until 3.30am, with a half-hour drinking up time, in towns and cities
‘There’s a willingness to go out later’
throughout Ireland.
The group also supports extending opening hours in Dublin to 4.30am and said that, as a European capital city, it ‘can satisfy the demand for this’.
More than 40 rural publicans and nightclub owners attended a meeting before Christmas to formulate their proposals.
Kevin Quinn, owner of the Bourbon Bar in Sligo and a member of the group, told the MoS this week that later opening hours would be a benefit at a time when the industry is volatile.
‘We’re in uncertain waters at the moment after two years of restrictions,’ he said. ‘After one weekend, it looks like there is a willingness to go out later, so if people have an opportunity to trade to 12.30am or 2.30am, then yes, you can certainly see the benefit in that.’
Mr Quinn said the proposal would give pubs the option of applying to trade for longer hours.
‘It is to differentiate between standard pub-trading hours, latenight bar trading hours and a nightclub trading permit.
‘Will it benefit every pub? It is difficult to say, but if they can fit the criteria to qualify for a latenight bar, then it’s a personal decision on whether they wish to apply and trade later hours or not.’
The businessman explained it is not a ‘one size fits all’ that will suit every rural bar in Ireland.
‘It’s about putting in place a mechanism to regulate what is already there.
‘For a rural bar to retain the latenight licence the way it is currently, there are certain requirements you need to achieve.’
Mr Quinn said Ireland has ‘some of the most experienced and professional operators in Europe running nightclub businesses’ and is also ‘highly regulated’.
‘That has enabled this sector to provide critical public safety, public order and control measures benefiting the late-night economy,’ he added.
Night Life Beyond the Capital supports a policy that maintains a ‘strict’ licensing system to ‘protect public health and public order’.
The group believes the ‘worst thing’ that could happen would be if regulations were ‘loosened to the point of inexperienced and noncompliant opportunists’ damaging the sector’s reputation.
After almost two years of restrictions, the group says it wants ‘outdated’ laws governing the sale of alcohol and late-night restrictions modernised to ‘revitalise’ the industry.
‘It’s about regulating what is already there’