Will it be a night for sore eyes?
“I won’t be getting a late-night license and I don’t think it will affect our business. Some people might want to stay out until 6am, but most people won’t want that.”
Those were the words of Ger Kiely, owner of Cyprus Avenue, as he spoke to the Cork Independent about the longer opening hours for pubs and clubs whic were agreed at cabinet on Tuesday.
Pubs can now open until 12.30am every night of the week and all club venues within Cork and other Irish cities will have the option to avail of a new license that will allow them to continue serving alcohol until 5am and to close their doors by 6am.
Ger Kiely said this is a step in the right direction for Irish nightlife once it is done safely.
He explained: “Once it is done with proper precautions in place, so that people are not getting excessively drunk and misbehaving accordingly, it could be fine.”
“I’m not sure that there is a demand for these hours in Cork. Maybe big venues in Dublin but not here,” he added.
Others have been pushing and campaigning for this opportunity for years.
Give us the Night is an independent volunteer group, operating within the night-time industry, campaigning for positive changes to nightlife in Ireland.
In their mandate, the group said: “Countries around the world are experiencing the benefits of a healthy night-time economy. The economy recognised timeframe of activity in this sector is 6pm to 6am,” Give us the Night has said.
Following the announcements on the reform of licensing laws, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin said: “It is one of my priorities as minister to invest in bringing life and vitality back to our towns and villages through culture and arts and supporting the night time economy is a crucial aspect of this.”
The Green Party TD continued: “9 pilot towns and cities have been announced and they will recruit new night time economy advisors who will help drive and support a more diverse and sustainable night time economy in their localities, engaging with the community, businesses, venues and artists to implement plans that make sense for each town or city.”
Cork is one of the pilot cities featuring in the plan.
Minister Martin said she secured €6 million in budget 2023 for developing the night time economy and, as part of this announcement, she said she has also committed to working with the sector and other relevant stakeholders to develop a grant process for soundproofing of suitable venues.
Other groups such as the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) have also welcomed the announcement to allow longer opening hours for pubs, clubs, as well as additional supports to help businesses and communities adjust to licensing law changes.
IBEC said in a statment that it believes focus must now be afforded to ensuring late night transport arrangements, events, public safety and policing and other key elements of the night-time economy are sufficient to support the amended operating hours for those operating in this important sector.
IBEC Executive Director, Membership and Sectors, Sharon Higgins said: “The night-time economy is a core component of the wider experience economy.
“This announcement will be key to revitalisation and growth of the cities, towns, and villages across the country.”
Ms Higgins continued: “Government must examine how other countries, and cities in particular, address licensing and regulations alongside late-night transport arrangements, events, public safety and policing, diversity and inclusion, and quality of life issues.”