Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “notes that” and substitute the following: - the Night-Time Economy is a hugely important sector, contributing to the economy and Ireland’s cultural and creative sectors, which can bring vibrancy to city and town centres and that it is important to protect, support and sustain this part of the economy by attracting people into our towns and cities later in the evening and night-time by offering a range of cultural activities, in a variety of venues;

- on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media established the Night-Time Economy Taskforce in July 2020, brought its report to Government in September 2021 and published it thereafter;

- the Programme for Government and the Justice Plan 2022, commits to modernising licensing laws and application processes and the Minister for Justice has committed to publishing and enacting new laws as part of this modernisation process;

- extensive work is underway in the Department of Justice to prepare the Heads of a General Scheme of a Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022 which will replace existing legislation, including the Licensing Acts 1833 to 2018, the Registration of Clubs Acts 1904 to 2008, and the Public Dance Hall Act 1935, with updated and streamlined provisions more suited to the 21st century;

- any changes in alcohol licensing laws must be balanced with the need for regulation in the public interest, in particular, public health and public order, and that reforms must be developed with a supportive approach to businesses and the communities in which they operate; codifying alcohol licensing law into a single Act will make it more accessible and user-friendly for the general public, the licensed trade, courts, and An Garda Síochána;

- extensive public consultation has taken place in relation to the modernisation of Ireland’s licencing laws and also in relation to the development of the Night-Time Economy, both in relation to activities involving the sale of alcohol and those which do not;

- the Night-time Economy Taskforce Report contains 36 actions which aims to address a broad range of challenges facing the development of a vibrant night-time culture and economy, including regulations, licencing laws, transport, diversity of cultural activities,and to finding practical solutions to help cities, towns and villages, find and develop new opportunities;

- a range of actions have been agreed to ensure that every opportunity to support the sector and remove obstacles to growth is explored and maximised, including facilitating more use of publicly-owned cultural buildings and heritage sites for events and later night activity, including in national cultural institutions;

- a new Scheme was recently launched by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to support entertainment in off-peak times to increase footfall in our cities and towns later in the evening, and night-time pubs, nightclubs, cafes and other suitable licensed and unlicensed premises may apply;

- arising out of the Taskforce Report, a workshop has been held on planning and development-related actions to support the Night-Time Economy which include discussions on noise management and how best to mitigate adverse effects of night-life on local residents and that a report is being prepared for further consideration;

- the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport were key members of the Taskforce and are committed to improving the public transport offering in the Night-Time Economy to facilitate both workers and those enjoying a night out in our cities and towns;

- the Government is committed to ensuring that people who are enjoying the Night-Time Economy are doing so safely, with the Taskforce Implementation Group working closely with the HSE National Social Inclusion Office on harm reduction strategies in the Night-time Economy, with the support of the industry, local authorities and An Garda Síochána;

- the Government is committed to improving night-time safety for audiences, venues, performers and staff, creating a safe space in which everyone feels welcome, respected and comfortable while promoting Ireland’s culture on the national and international stage; to this end, the Department of Justice is developing a Night-Time Economy Charter which will, inter alia, commit industry to ensure protection for staff, freelancers, volunteers and patrons, staff training and awareness on these issues and protection for the particularly vulnerable; and calls on the Government: - to enact a new Sale of Alcohol Bill as soon as possible to ensure that we have a modern and fit-for-purpose alcohol licensing law.

I will share my time with Senator Dolan. I heard what has been said and I agree. I know just how difficult it can be for people in the entertainment space, be they artists, people who own premises or whatever it might be. We all recognise the huge importance of maintaining the cultural sustainability of the nigh-time economy, which benefits us all. It does not just benefit us as patrons, but as a community. It obviously benefits the economy as well. That is why I welcome the Minister’s commitment to reforming the law here. Of course, when it is recognised that law reform is necessary, it can never come quickly enough. I certainly support the notion that we would modernise our licensing laws.

As long as you treat people like children when it comes to alcohol, they will continue to behave like children. When you tell people they must go home at 11 p.m. or leave at a certain time or whatever it is, what you then have is an outpouring of people from venues onto the street at the same time. That is what leads to difficulties and public order problems and things such as that. I lived in France for a number of years and I always found that the staggered closing of places, when they decided it was the right time for them to close, meant that there was not that sudden outpouring of people onto the street. It meant that people had a much more mature approach to alcohol. Looking at the jurisdictions around Europe that do not appear to have public drunkenness problems we appear have, particularly in city centres, they are jurisdictions that have a much more – I was going to say permissive but that is not what I mean – relaxed approach to licensing laws. I know that efforts have been made in the past to make changes that have been resisted by different sectors of the industry and I understand that. I think if we tell people that they, as adults and citizens, can make decisions themselves about when it is time to stop drinking and go home, they then are much more likely to behave in a way that we would expect of adults who can make those decisions themselves.

There are so many aspects to this and I will not have time to go through them all. However, I would like to address the issue of transport, because I know that is part of what the task force has recommended and the National Transport Authority, NTA, is a stakeholder in that. Transport has been mentioned by speakers and how it stops at a certain time so people, for example, need to leave the pub at 9 p.m. That is not sustainable; it just means people stay on longer or find themselves in a difficult position.That applies whether you are in a rural area and there is no transport link to speak of to bring you to your rural home; in a suburb, as I am in Dún Laoghaire where we need a 24-hour 46A, which I know is coming but not quickly enough; or in a city centre. In all those circumstances you need adequate 24-hour transport services. The Nitelink is great in Dublin but it only operates in one direction. You need a proper to-and-fro so that people can move around, patronise one place and then patronise another on the same night. If we approach this with the idea that people are adults and capable of making these decisions for themselves, I believe these reforms will be much more effective.