Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of nightlife and licensing law reform, which Sinn Féin focused on in its Private Members' motion in July before the recess. We had a very worthwhile debate in the House on the future of nightlife in our towns and cities, acknowledging that of the more than 522 nightclubs that existed in 2000, just 85 remain. The whole system needs to be reformed. To the Government's credit, it has done the groundwork. In our Private Members' motion, we recognised the work of the night-time economy task force, the report of which was published in September 2021, and a programme for Government commitment to reform licensing laws and application processes and conduct a full review of policies on nightlife. The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, made a commitment in this regard in July during the Private Members' debate:

The general scheme will be brought forward in one of the first Cabinet meetings when we return in September. The intention is to move it through the various stages as quickly as possible ...

We all know the Cabinet meets every Tuesday. There have been seven Cabinet meetings since the recess but there is still no sign of the heads of the Bill being brought to the Cabinet. Therefore, the justice committee cannot commence its work.A draft Bill was sitting in the Department long before the Government came to office. Businesses are struggling. This Christmas will not even be the usual catch-all fillip for everyone. It will not save everyone and, therefore, we must see this proposed legislation as fast as possible. The Minister's commitment is slipping away with every week that passes. I call on the Leader and the House to make it clear to the Government that we do not accept this. Commitments have been made and these should be honoured, because businesses and a whole section of society are waiting on this long-delayed reform.