A PUSH to finally oust "outdated" liquor licensing legislation in Northern Ireland has been launched by lobby group, Hospitality Ulster.
The group has called on the Northern Ireland Assembly to modernise laws - some of which are up to 100 years old - and help reverse an "anti-business environment" in the north.
Urging supporters to sign a Hospitality Ulster ‘Petition of Concern’ in support of a bill containing long-awaited changes, Hospitality Ulster chief executive Colin Neill said members were becoming increasingly angry at the slow pace of change.
"Pre-loading, binge drinking, anti-social behaviour, restrictive Easter opening times and the prosecution of publicans on legal technicalities are only a small sample of the issues that we are faced with," he said.
"It is a worrying trend that 65 per cent who drink alcohol, consume it at home, while only 20 per cent do so in a pub and 16 per cent in restaurants - taking it out of the social setting which is a safe and regulated environment.
"Harmful drinking is increasing and the industry is suffering under current law."
The hospitality chief said the group would be pushing for a new bill to go through the Assembly once the election period is over.
"We have been promised the introduction of a bill to make the necessary changes but, so far, the Assembly has failed to bring it forward," he said.
"This is compounded by the fact that issues contained within the bill have been consulted upon for over four years. As time moves on, the hospitality sector is being left behind."
With the north fighting against a downturn in domestic tourism in a "struggling economy", mixed with issues relating to VAT, rates and the National Living Wage, Mr Neill said the industry could not sustain "this ongoing anti-business environment".
"We are an industry that is a significant driver of the Northern Ireland economy and pregnant with opportunity as we grow the offer to consumers and tourists," he added.
"The outmoded current legislation is simply holding us back."
