Nightclubs and the night-time economy

Sir, – We can see older generations continue to gate-keep the lives of those on the way up as calls continue to be made to shelve the Sale of Alcohol Bill, a Bill that in reality changes very little. Nightclubs would have the option to open up until 6am (with the bar open until 5am), with pubs and late bars allowed serve until 12.30am and 2.30am each night instead of just selected nights.These are moderate changes when compared to our European neighbours.

Only 89 nightclubs account for a total of 0.6 per cent of almost 14,000 liquor licences currently in use.

Sheila Gilheany of Alcohol Action Ireland (Letters, April 2nd) compares later opening times with more access to alcohol and therefore negative consequences. However, the issues she raises would actually be far better solved by arguing for better rural transport, rather than against modernising our night-time entertainment laws.

Road deaths are unfortunately up 38 per cent compared with last year and of the 5,000 roadside drug and alcohol tests that were conducted at the weekend, 177 arrests were made for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. More than a quarter of these arrests occurred the morning after, between 8am and 2pm.

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We clearly have an issue with road policing (the number of alcohol breath tests carried out at Garda checkpoints has dropped by more than half when compared to before the pandemic, while the number of gardaí assigned to roads policing is at its lowest level since 2017), as well as education, if people are taking to the wheel the morning after the night before. If someone is stupid enough to get behind the wheel under the influence, they are going to do it at 8pm, 8am or any time. It would be great to know how many of the arrests made were of people leaving a nightclub? I would imagine very few.

We should also remember that we already had extended opening hours with theatre licences, with the glory days of the Gaiety and Spirit up until 2008. I cannot remember there being issues with increased road accidents or public order incidents as people filtered out at later times.

Supermarkets are licensed to sell alcohol 78.5 hours a week and people can access this alcohol in their homes 24 hours a day. The access is always there, and we must remember this Bill is simply about time rather than volume.

All statistics are pointing to the fact that younger people are drinking less yet younger people are witnessing older people get obliterated on wine from the supermarket. Does that mean we should ban table wine? Of course not. What we need are more conversations tackling the reasons people overconsume or end up addicted to alcohol because that is to do with trauma, as all addiction is, not later opening hours. Instead prohibition and limitation are being cited as the tool to use, which we know never works.

If nightclubs were the problem, then Spain, Holland, Italy, Greece would have much bigger issues with alcohol than Ireland as their clubs stay open all night. And they don’t. Cultural life in Ireland has been the victim of corporate gentrification and if we want people to have lives in the city, we have to give them something to do at night. – Yours, etc,

ANDREA HORAN,

Dublin 8.