Newly obtained documents show representatives of the pub trade and restaurant sector at odds with each other over just who gets to sell the extra alcohol.

In October 2022 the Minister for Justice, Ms. Helen McEntee TD, published the General Scheme of the Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022. The draft legislation attempts to consolidate and update the State’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 pubs and nightclubs; introducing a ‘cultural amenity licence’ to enable the sale of alcohol in venues as galleries, theatres, and museums; 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.

Between 2020 and, to date, 2024 the Department of Justice held 48 meetings with various organisations and bodies in relation to the Sale of Alcohol Bill.^[i] Of those meetings, almost one in five were with the industry – 18%. This contrasts with public health organisations who were consulted just once, and the Department of Health, who were not engaged with at all.^[ii]

Indeed, beyond the written submission from the Health Service Executive to the public consultation on the Bill, there has been little meaningful engagement with government health bodies. For context, representatives from industry organisations including the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), Licensed Vintners Association (LVA), National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) and Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) met with department officials on eight occasions...

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