Revellers hoping to party into the early hours this Christmas have been left disappointed after the Government confirmed a delay to its new booze bill.
The new Sale of Alcohol Bill was due to be introduced by Justice Minister Helen McEntee in the coming months.
It would see a major transformation to Ireland’s nightlife with the creation of a new nighttime economy which would see later openings and more cultural events into the night.
It’s understood that pubs and clubs could stay open until 6am under the proposed new law.
However, it has been confirmed that it won’t be introduced until after Christmas.
Minister McEntee told the Irish Sun: “I hope to have a bill to Cabinet in the coming weeks and then obviously once that is published it will have to go through the houses and the Committee stage.
"We want to get this passed as soon as possible... But it won’t be passed by the end of the year.”
It comes after a senior government source told the Irish Mirror that the incoming changes will be “major” and will “bring the licensing laws into the 21st century.”
Major cities all over Europe that Dublin competes with for tourists are already open until up to 6am, while 4am is regular almost everywhere.
Ms McEntee previously told us: “All of this work is happening together. Members from my department, myself included, are part of that taskforce.
“So everything that I do and everything that we do, we are doing collectively and working together and there’s a huge amount of joined-up thinking.”
Arts Minister Catherine Martin is the lead minister in charge of the drive to revitalise Irish nightlife.
The night-time economy taskforce was set up to examine ways of reimagining, revitalising and introducing new life into Ireland’s nightlife and night businesses.
One of the main outcomes of the report was the recommendation to scrap the ancient mix of licensing laws, some there since as far back as the 1830s, and replace them with one new unified Sale of Alcohol Bill.
It will see longer opening hours for licensed premises later into the early hours.
The exact provisions will be hammered out and presented when the new Bill is launched.
Ms Martin said she wanted to see European-style nightlife, where cafe, bar and nightclub openings until 4am and beyond are the norm.
Catherine Martin was asked by the Mirror if she would like to see drinking and dancing until 6am, and she replied: “Yes, why not, I think that opportunity should be there.
“I think shutting down, Dublin, we’re working way behind our other European cities.
“It can be done, it can be done in a safe way and I think that option definitely should be there. As I’ve said, it’s breathing life in and new opportunities for this sector.”
Ms Martin added that she would like to see the new reforms “as soon as possible.”
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