Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is useful. We can recognise this in every city and town. In Cork, there were well-known venues which closed over the years. There was a long tradition in Cork of electronic and house music at venues such as Sir Henry's. More recently, venues such as The Pav have closed down. At this stage of my life, I am more nights in than nights out. A few years ago, one could see serious restrictions in choice and it was getting more restrictive. That is an issue which concerns and frustrates many people. There might be more flexibility in Dublin. However, in Cork one could see the impact of everybody coming out on to the streets at the same time with going to the same takeaways, public order issues and taxis. The taxi drivers themselves would have said that they were reliant on a brief period and then suddenly it was over. That does not suit anybody.

There is need for change and the arguments have been articulated. We will have a discussion with the Department of Justice and Equality after this session and with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in a fortnight. This is relevant to the Department of Justice and Equality from the point of view of licensing. However, this is also a cultural and an artistic issue. This is about people's ability to dance, to enjoy music and to perform. That is a vitally important part of it. There is a debate in Dublin and across the country about how attractive our cities and towns are as places in which to live. The ability to enjoy culture is a big element of how attractive our cities and towns are.

Can anyone give an estimate as to how many people are working in this sector? The witnesses gave data on dance licence applications and special exemption orders. Both of them have been decreasing quite dramatically. Will this continue? Obviously, insurance is an element of that as well as licensing. Are there other factors involved?

I was interested to note that Central Arts Waterford stated that Waterford City and County Council has been quite supportive. There is a role for local authorities in this. I would hazard a guess that not every local authority is as supportive. What did Waterford City and County Council do right in this regard? Aside from the point about licensing committees, what can local authorities do? There is a proposal around a night mayor, for example.

Should there be three new additional forms or a single one for licensing? Are specific forms of licences required?