This is the report on pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022, which will consolidate and modernise Ireland’s licensing laws.

Among the General Scheme’s objectives include standardising the opening hours for licensed premises throughout the week and extending the opening hours of nightclubs; introducing a ‘cultural amenity licence’ to enable the sale of alcohol in venues as galleries, theatres, museums, subject to certain conditions; the revision of the extinguishment requirement for on licences; the introduction of annual permits for late bars and nightclubs to replace the system of Special Exemption Orders; and moving the responsibility for licensing from the Circuit Court to the District Court.