Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 24 January 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

General Scheme of the Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022: Discussion

Mr. Sunil Sharpe:

Apologies. We have always been operating within the pub licensing system. A Deputy said earlier that nobody is looking for it down in Kerry. We have seen some comments come through that nobody is looking for it. It is not that nobody is looking for it; it is that those particular business owners are not asking for it. There is a much larger cohort and community of people involved in the night-time industry who have been looking for it for many years. It comes down to the division between the pub industry, which traditionally operates up until midnight, and our industry, which needs to have a foothold post midnight into the early hours and the morning hours. We need a separate licence or permit that works for us for access, and we need fewer barriers to entry. That will facilitate growth. We can change these licensing laws tomorrow. It does not mean we will get operators to open these places.