A Monaghan nightclub is refusing patrons free tap water because management feels its supply “promotes drug use”.

Manager Seamus McEnaney said theVanity Nightclub was a “drug free zone” and that this environment was maintaned through a combination of security, music selection and water policy.

A statement outlining the club’s policy on tap water was posted on the Vanity Nightclub Facebook page yesterday, which read: “We feel encouraging free tap water usually promotes drug use within a nightclub and for this reason our club doesn’t provide it.”

Speaking to TheJournal.ie, McEnaney explained the Facebook post had been published in response to a complaint lodged by a customer after they had been refused water at the club.

“We have a very strict nightclub and – I think it’s fair to say – the club is drug free. That’s down to a combination of things – security, music choice and our water policy,” he said.

Although the water policy (which has been in place for about ten years) means that customers are not given free tap water, they can purchase “very reasonably priced” bottled water at the bar, McEnaney said.

The mineral water, sourced from a local business, is on sale for €2 per 500ml at the nightclub. A spokesperson told TheJournal.ie there was no family connection between the water supplier and the owners of the nightclub.

In response to some customer comments on Facebook which suggested the water policy would lead to customers to buy more drinks, McEnaney rejected the suggestion out of hand - and noted that bar staff could give water to patrons “if someone was sick”.

“If it’s money I wanted to save, I could drop one of the security staff – but I wouldn’t do that,” he said. “I wouldn’t drop the policy on security, music or water… it’s that combination that works”.

To those who disagree with the water policy, McEnaney said: “The club they’re coming to is a well-run one, it’s very disciplined, the music policy is good. A combination of factors make it that way; you must look at the bigger picture”.