Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

Since becoming Minister, I have been particularly interested in the amount of work my Department has been undertaking on the night-time economy. This has primarily been focused on supporting the development of safe and vibrant nightlife across the country. In 2022, the Department invited all local authorities to put in a night-time economy pilot initiative. The aim is to stimulate night-time activity supported at local level by the appointment of a night-time economy adviser.

An independent panel selected nine locations across the country to take part in the pilot, namely, Dublin city, Cork city, Limerick city, Galway city, Kilkenny, Drogheda, Sligo, Buncrana and Longford town. The Department has provided funding for a two-year full-time night-time economy officer in each one of these selected locations and in recent weeks, I confirmed funding for these posts until September 2026. Having established local committees in each of the locations, the advisers have been conducting local surveys to engage with the local community, gathering data to inform policy decisions, and have been consulting with their advisory committees to aid in the process of developing ideas for the night-time economy in their own locality. It is clear that the requirements vary from town to town and city to city, and following feedback from stakeholders, each adviser develops and publishes an action plan for their specific location.

This year, following a tendering process, we appointed Communiqué International to undertake an independent review of the night-time economy pilots to advise on possible options for the future of the initiative. The review will also critically examine the structures involved in supporting the advisers, the funding levels, the visibility of each in their respective areas and their impact on the economy in the local area. I expect the report from that review in the coming weeks and I look forward to the findings of the review. I will also shortly meet the national implementation group for the night-time economy to hear at first-hand from stakeholders across government and others about their priorities and how best we can continue to work together to improve the quality of night-time activity across Ireland.

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