Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy and the organisations I have mentioned, some of which he may have spoken to. Many of them have put forward the facts from their research. All that information is being taken into account. There is a perception that this is legislation to allow every bar and club in the country to stay open late and serve alcohol late. That is not what this legislation is about. In fact, some of the restrictive measures mean that clubs and bars will need to adhere to certain conditions to protect their patrons and protect their staff, including from sexual assault. They will need to look at this as a general day-to-day running of the organisation. They could potentially lose their licence if they do not protect their patrons in that way.

The night-time economy is falling away. When I was in college, parts of Dublin city centre would have been vibrant at night and would have had people there. People now say to me that those areas are not safe and they cannot go there because places are not open and there is no longer a cohort of people who are socialising at night-time. They do not have lit-up buildings, and people, such as bouncers on doors, are not there. That is contributing to some of the challenges we have seen. I want to ensure that vibrancy is brought back. It needs to be done in a safe way. I am also very conscious of the public health implications.

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