ABOUT 250 licensed premises could be worthless when put up for sale because they are trading without a proper licence, an Oireachtas committee has been told. The warning was made yesterday by the Incorporated Law Society (ILS) in a submission to the Legislation and Security Committee, which is considering reform of the licensing laws.
Mr Tom Shaw, representing the ILS's conveyancing branch, said there are approximately 12,000 licences in existence to allow the sale of alcoholic drink, but not all of them were the same. Licence owners must reapply annually to have their licences re-registered. Mr Shaw said errors had crept into the system and some owners innocently believed they had bought a full licence when, in fact, they had bought a more restricted one. The ILS estimates there may be about 250 licensed premises "with problems", according to Mr Shaw.
The ILS believes an amnesty should be granted to these licence holders, as they were the victims of an archaic system. Mr Shaw said the ILS had lobbied the Department of Justice to change the system. Its response had been "sympathetic", but the Department had refused to make "piece meal" changes to the law, Mr Shaw added.
Ms Liz O'Donnell TD (PD) said. "The reaction you had, from the Department of Justice is one we've come to be familiar with retention of the status quo. What was needed was a simple administrative act, she added, without political implications. The committee voted unanimously to recommend that changes be made so that people registering licences were, clear about the status of their licence, and that those purchasing licensed premises knew exactly what they were buying.
The committee also heard submissions from the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) and the Irish Hotels' Federation (IHF) on the licensing laws. The CCI called for a radical liberalisation of the present system. "Licensing hours at the discretion of, individual businesses would be a much more successful way of ensuring that the different markets' in different parts of Ireland are served by businesses in the sector," the CCI contended.
The CCI's director, Mr Paul Skehan, said it was irrational that the same regulations applied when the pattern of alcohol consumption varied so widely. His organisation acknowledged there were costs to society arising from the abuse of alcohol.
Mr John Browne TD (FG) asked if the CCI was saying taxes adequately recompensed for the problems caused by alcohol abuse. Mr Skehan said that was not the impression the CCI wished to create, but rather that the changes they were proposing would not cause additional costs associated with alcohol abuse.
The IHF's chief executive, Mr John Power, said his organisation was calling for the abolition of Sunday closing times for the licensed trade and the extension of closing time to 11.30 p.m. throughout the year. He also urged the committee to retain some restrictions on late night licensing.
Mr Jim Kemmy TD (Lab), referring to recent rioting in Limerick after the discos ended, said. "They had an apparently insatiable appetite for fast food after spending hours at discos which are supposed to serve a substantial meal under the terms of their licence."
Mr Charles Flanagan TD (FG), chairman of the committee, asked if hotels had replaced the old dance halls with discos and now enjoyed a monopoly in late night entertainment, particularly in country towns. Mr Power replied that the IHF had recently conducted a survey which found there were about 650 "disco establishments", only 200 of which are attached to hotels.