The Justice Plan 2022 and the Programme for Government commits to publishing and enacting new laws to update and modernise alcohol licensing laws in Ireland. The objective of the proposed Bill is to repeal the Licensing Acts 1833 to 2018, the Registration of Clubs Acts 1904 to 2008, and the Public Dance Hall Act 1935, and to replace them with updated and streamlined provisions more suited to the 21st century. This is a reform on which there are many views across society, and the new legislation needs to be informed by those views.

Public consultation:
In November 2021, the Minister for Justice launched a wide-ranging public consultation to seek the views of the public on the modernisation of Ireland’s licencing laws. Members of the public, academics, sectoral groups, and representative organisations were invited to complete an online survey and/or make a written submission to the Department. There was a high level of response to the consultation, with in excess of 5,000 responses received. The Department reviewed these responses to ensure the reform of the legislation takes account of and is informed by this engagement. On 10th March 2022, the Minister hosted a consultation webinar and panel discussion event on the reform of the alcohol licensing laws to give an opportunity for further discussion of the issues of concern to stakeholders. The webinar can be viewed on the Department’s YouTube channel: Consultation Webinar

The department's webpage contains submissions from organisations in relation to the public consultation on the review of the sale of alcohol in 2022.