Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has backed changes to pub and nightclub opening hours despite the HSE’s concerns about increased alcohol consumption.
At an HSE briefing on Thursday, the HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry was asked if he had concerns about changes to pub and nightclub opening hours.
Under new plans approved by Cabinet, nightclubs will be allowed to stay open until 6am, with last orders taken at 5am.
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Dr Henry said: “There is a link between access and availability of alcohol, whether through licensing or otherwise, and acute intoxication or chronic health problems.
“Clearly, any public strategy has to recognise the morbidity associated with alcohol and it is a matter for the Chief Medical Officer to advise the Government.
“We are a healthcare organisation and we need to be concerned about alcohol intake.”
When the comments were put to Minster Donnelly and he was asked if he shared Mr Henry’s concerns, he insisted that the new laws struck a “balance”.
He also dismissed reports that suggested he did bring reservations expressed by public health doctors to Cabinet when the laws were being discussed.
“We’ve got to target harmful drinking and disruptive drinking and there's a lot of work going on there,” he said.
“When it comes to the recent changes to the licensing laws, Government has to find a balance between public health and letting people get on with their lives and supporting the nighttime economy, which is a sector that, as we all know, suffered really, really badly during Covid
“My view and Government's view is we have the right balance.
“I'm precluded from talking about exactly what was discussed at Cabinet but what I can say is I did raise the fact that the public health team within the Department of Health have significant concerns.
“My observations were that we have the balance right. But critically, we have in terms of minimum unit pricing, advertising and others.”
Minister Donnelly also dismissed concerns that casual drug use could increase once nightclubs start opening later.
He noted that the changes to opening hours will see Ireland brought in line with a lot of other European countries and that “we have to have a little bit of faith in Irish people”.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee brought the new plans to overhaul Ireland’s 200-year-old licensing laws to Cabinet last month.
These include new laws that will allow nightclubs open until 6am in the morning, Late bars will be allowed to keep serving drinks until 2:30 am.
Ordinary pubs will have new standardised opening hours, from 10:30am to 12:30am, seven days a week.
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