Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Nightlife and the night-time economy remain under severe threat in our towns and cities and, by the looks of it, the Government is dragging its feet on reform. Rising property costs, rip-off insurance, extortionate licensing fees and archaic licensing are crippling businesses and cultural activity. I call on the Government to reform licensing laws immediately and implement the raft of more than 30 recommendations made by the task force on the night-time economy as soon as possible. I particularly call on it to introduce its legislation to reform this area. We cannot fall into the same trap we have fallen into for the past 20 years of telling this industry to wait. There were 522 nightclubs in 2000; there are only 85 left now. By any measure, that is an alarming loss of cultural space, music venues and nightclubs. With them go jobs for musicians, sound engineers, lighting designers, bouncers, hospitality staff and bar workers. I see young and older people who work in the industry choosing to leave because their careers do not support their survival in Dublin.They are going to Berlin and Glasgow and further afield.

I would like the Minister of State to tell me that the Department of Justice is prioritising this issue and is actively focused, day-to-day, on producing a final draft of this legislation. I ask this because it does not seem to me to be prioritised. The proposed sale of alcohol Bill 2022 is not new. A draft of this proposed Bill has existed for about 20 years. Many promises have been made to this industry and many political parties, particularly those in government, have benefited from announcements made in recent years. People come up to me and say it is great to see the reforms taking place in the industry. This proposed legislation, however, is nowhere near being over the line. People actually believe these changes have been made because of the number of announcements made by the Government.

This legislation needs to be enacted and I hope this will happen by the end of the year. No new venues have been opening. In this time, the cost of insurance has also been going up and venues have been holding on for dear life. The special exemption order, SEO, reforms in the context of the budgetary changes were much appreciated. I refer to the situation which existed after Covid-19 when those fees were waived and reduced. These changes were welcomed but we need them to be put on an official footing. The industry has been waiting and waiting and costs are as important as opening hours in ensuring the survival of these venues.

From a broad perspective, it does not look like much change has been made concerning insurance. Killing the costs is crucial in addition to extending the opening hours. I hope, therefore, the Minister of State will be able to tell me if the Department is actively working on this legislation day-to-day, when a Bill will come to the Dáil and the Seanad and when we will see this proposed legislation become law.