Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 420: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of licensed premises that applied for a late-night extension to serve alcohol until 2.30 a.m. for the years 2009, 2010 and to date in 2011; the number of requests that are approved, pending or refused; the number of nightclubs who applied for a special exemption order to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. for the years 2009, 2010 and to date in 2011; the number of requests that were approved, pending or refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37509/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service. The Act provides that the Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision of statistics.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that licensing statistics are not compiled in the manner sought by the Deputy and that the data could not be extracted without a disproportionate expenditure of staff time and resources which could not be justified in the circumstances. The number of applications for Special Exemption Orders for the years 2009 and 2010 are as set out in the table.

While the final figures for 2011 are not yet to hand, the Courts Service has indicated that based on previous trends it anticipates that the total number of applications in 2011 will be comparable to the 2010 figure.