Ms Martina Colville:

Yes. From that perspective, the statutory provisions providing for the sale, supply and consumption of intoxicating liquor in licensed premises are set out in the Licensing Acts, 1833 to 2018. This body of legislation specifies the opening and closing hours of licensed premises. There are no specific provisions in the Acts for the operation of nightclubs, late bars and other late-night entertainment outlets. This means, for example, that in the absence of a specific nightclub licence or permit, nightclubs and late bars operate on the basis of the special exemption order mechanism referenced earlier in the meeting which allows, subject to conditions, for longer hours for licensed premises with on-licences, for example, a public house licence or hotel licence.

With regard to special exemption orders, section 5 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1927, as amended in several subsequent intoxicating liquor Acts, defines "special exemption order" as an order of the District Court exempting the holder of an on-licence from general licensing hour restrictions on special occasions. These occasions include dances held in a ballroom which is licensed under the Public Dance Halls Acts, 1935 to 2003, and forms part of the licensed premises, in respect of which the special exemption order is being sought. The applicant for a special exemption order must serve on An Garda Síochána, not less than 48 hours before making the application, a notice of intention to apply for the order, setting out the applicant's name and address and the special occasion, the premises and the extended hours, in respect of which the order is being sought.

The District Court may make a special exemption order if it thinks fit to do so, having heard the officer of An Garda Síochána, for the licensing area concerned and having taken account of other relevant conditions. The court fee for each application for a special exemption order is €300, as prescribed in the District Court (Fees) Order. An excise duty of €110 per application is also payable to the Revenue Commissioners. In 2018 approximately 42,000 licensing applications were made to the District Court, of which over 80% were applications for special exemption orders. The revenues obtained are used to defray the cost of operating the system and contribute to the funding of Garda policing activity associated with the prevention of public disorder and related anti-social activity following late-night events.

Under current law, a special exemption order expires on any Monday that is not a public holiday at 1 a.m. or, in any other case, 2.30 a.m., unless the District Court, for stated reasons, including any reason related to the need to maintain public order, considers it expedient to grant the order for a shorter period. Drinking up time of 30 minutes is permitted on expiry of the special exemption order at 2.30 a.m., or at an earlier time if the District Court has exercised its discretion, but no dancing or entertainment is permitted during this further 30-minute period.

The granting of discretion to the District Court in respect of the expiry time of special exemption orders is a necessary safeguard that allows the court to take account of any Garda objection arising from previous instances of disorder or disturbances in or at the premises concerned. It also allows the court to take due account of any objection from local residents arising from instances of undue inconvenience or nuisance such as noise or car parking on private property in the area. The task of the court in such cases is to seek to balance the respective rights of all of the concerned parties. The expiry times for special exemption orders were last adjusted in the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2000. Many of the reforms enacted at the time were based on recommendations which had been made by a sub-committee of the then Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Women’s Rights in its report entitled, A Review of Liquor Licensing.

On the shorter duration of special exemption orders for Sunday night-Monday morning, the subcommittee recommended that there should be no change to the existing law, that is Sunday night special exemptions orders should expire at 1 a.m. on Monday mornings. That remains the current position in law.

The Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003 introduced a new provision that confers a role on local authorities concerning the expiry time of special exemption orders. It provides that a local authority may, following consultations with the Garda and other relevant persons, adopt a resolution concerning earlier expiry times for special exemption orders within the whole or a specified part of its administrative area. The District Court is required to have regard to any such resolution before making a special exemption order for any premises within the area concerned. A resolution to extend expiry times beyond the statutory limits is not permitted. While this provision was intended primarily to empower local authorities to take account of the concerns of local residents in areas that might be adversely affected by inconvenience or nuisance, or increased risks to public order, the extent to which local authorities have used it is unknown to the Department.

Further statutory changes were introduced in the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 in order to improve safety and security standards. In response to public concerns, this Act introduced a requirement for a closed circuit television system in certain cases, and a requirement that persons providing a security service as a door supervisor be the holder of a current licence issued by the private security authority under the Private Security Services Act 2004. The District Court must also be satisfied that the premises concerned complies with fire safety standards under the Building Control Act 1990.

As regards any future reforms, including any changes that this joint committee may consider desirable in the context of protecting and promoting vibrant nightlife, economy and culture, the Minister for Justice and Equality has outlined his views on such a possibility in response to a number of parliamentary questions on the subject earlier this year. While stating that he is, in principle, in favour of enhancements to current arrangements, he does not have immediate plans to amend the law in this area. Indeed, any such changes to the law would require proper consultation with relevant stakeholders, including representative bodies, groups representing local residents, the local authorities and the Garda Síochána.

The Minister said that he is mindful that any change would need to be organised and managed in a manner that will not cause undue inconvenience or nuisance to local residents nor create an undue risk to public order. Moreover, any proposed changes would also need to have regard to the preservation of a fair competitive environment for competing businesses.