Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the witnesses for their contributions. Today has already been a huge success, given the fact that the Departments of Justice and Equality, and Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht are surely listening at this point. Judging from people I speak to, young people in our towns and cities right across the country are looking for sustainable places in which to dance, staggered opening hours and closing times, and public transport home. I thank Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Kitt for bringing my attention acutely to the policy areas on this issue. I attended their public meeting a couple of months ago. I think there were more than 300 people there. That shows the demand and shows that young people are politicised on this issue. I laugh when the Irish Independentor The Irish Timessuggests what the next big social issues are and overlooks this issue.

It should not be overlooked. The work being done by all of the delegates and Give us the Night is progressing this issue.

I visited the former technical school in Amsterdam a few weekends ago. It is now a nightclub, but it is also a concert venue, restaurant, café, exhibition space and gym with a 24-hour licence. Mr. Finan has said people are more likely to go away for a long weekend and if they only go out to socialise or party once a month, they might save it to pay for the Ryanair flight to Lisbon, Amsterdam or Berlin. We need to keep them here.

I am also concerned that friends and people I meet leave clubs early to go to hugely unregulated spaces about which we do not know much and which are possibly dangerous. They might also go to casinos to have another drink. This is not about drink, but if someone wants to have another drink after 3 a.m., he or she will go to a casino.

In the committee's second session we will meet officials from the Department of Justice and Equality to discuss licensing issues. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, is in favour of reforms, but there are no immediate plans in place to discuss them. The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Madigan, has said the same. Consultation will be needed. What is the next step in dealing with the issue of licensing? Do we need a wide consultation process that will take in the views of all concerned? What will happen in nightclubs and venues if the current licensing system continues without reforms?