Mr. Sunil Sharpe:

Nightlife is wilting away and will continue to do so. It has disappeared from some rural areas. It is diminished greatly in cities outside Dublin and has now taken a very bad turn in Dublin. There are almost no venues in the centre of the city anymore. There are a few, but the city is now dominated by pubs and restaurants. It is great that those places can do business, but that is the only offering available at night and it seems to be a trend throughout the country. As Ms O'Connell and Mr. Finan noted, the offering at night is becoming more and more narrow and I think the problem is going to get worse. It is certainly not going to get any better. This issue was also discussed almost 20 years ago and at the time the Government was criticised for not going far enough with its changes in licensing. The Chairman of the committee at the time, the current Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, also showed frustration at what had happened. Before the Minister leaves office, he should stick to his word and do something about this issue.