Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have already covered a lot of ground and I do not want to go over anything again. I want to talk about licensing laws. Yesterday, I spent my time during statements with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, speaking about night life and licensing reform. It has been said in more recent questions and answers that we can reopen the night economy on the same basis that it closed. I could give myriad numbers, and the witnesses know them all well, as to why we need change. In Dublin and other urban areas I see a huge need for space and venues. In many instances, I see people who would run events or who would open a pub or a venue opening cafes instead.

We have reached a point where we have approximately 20% of the nightclubs we had 20 years ago. There were 500 nightclubs in the State and it is down to 100. God knows what that will be after the pandemic. Pubs are not growing in numbers either. It has been referenced here that a number of things need to happen. The change being spoken about in licensing law reform absolutely needs to happen and businesses need to be given more flexibility. There is also consumer demand for 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. closing times. We need pubs, venues and restaurants to embrace the changes that I hope the Government will make. What is the response of the witnesses to potential changes in opening hours? Is there an appetite among their members to meet the demand that exists for licensing law reform and for restaurants? Do the members of the witnesses' organisations want to provide entertainment later into the night?