Mr. Donall O'Keeffe:

We are keen on late trading. Our position, which we submitted to the licensing reform consultation, is that there should two forms of late trading licences. These would be a late bar licence, which would allow opening until 2.30 a.m., which is in line with the current late trading hours, and a nightclub licence, which would allow opening until 5 a.m.

The important thing to understand about the nightclub licence is that it will be for a very small niche of the industry. The vast majority of the industry in Dublin and nationally are happy with the current hours for the weekends. Most of my members have no ambition to go beyond the traditional hours. The guys who are running late bars are, broadly speaking, happy with the 2.30 a.m. closing on Friday and Saturday night. However, there is a cohort of large businesses in the middle of our capital city that does see a market and an opportunity for later. We attract many international tourists. We have a big, local young population who are keen to go out late on Friday and Saturday night, in particular. However, this will be a small niche of the industry. I would be shocked if there were more than 25 of those business in Dublin if the licences were granted. They will tend to be large businesses and they will tend to be city centre businesses.