Northern Ireland

Leo Vardakar urges longer opening hours for southern pubs

Leo Varadkar described the Republic's licensing laws as 'archaic'. Picture by Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Leo Varadkar described the Republic's licensing laws as 'archaic'. Picture by Brian Lawless/PA Wire Leo Varadkar described the Republic's licensing laws as 'archaic'. Picture by Brian Lawless/PA Wire

THE Republic's "archaic" licensing laws should be changed with some bars allowed to stay open all night, Leo Varadkar has said.

The taoiseach believes Irish nightlife is restricted by limited opening hours when compared to the likes of Germany and Spain, where venues operate through the night with no notable health and safety issues.

Fine Gael Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan is heading up a group looking into the issue of licensing times as part of an effort to enhance night-time culture in the south.

Mr Varadkar agreed that the Republic's licensing laws needed to be reformed.

"I think they do – I don't necessarily think that we need the same licensing laws for everywhere," he said.

He said urban centres like Dublin differed from rural areas, so a "degree of local control around licensing laws" may be necessary.

"But, you know, people who come to Dublin and come to our cities and people that go abroad from Ireland do say that our nightlife can be disappointing in that premises shut down, so it's very different in Madrid or Germany or other places, you know where places can stay open all night," he said.

"And that doesn't lead to public order offences or increased levels of public order offences. It can actually be better in terms of public transport because instead of everyone rushing out on the streets looking for a taxi at the same time, that's spread over a longer period of time – and it's an area that I think we need change in."

The taoiseach also spoke about the possible introduction of a designated night mayor – a position that groups such as Give Us The Night have been campaigning for in recent months.

"We put out the idea of authorities appointing night mayors," said Mr Varadkar.

"That's night mayors and other things to reinvigorate our nightlife, which of course shouldn't be all about drink. You know, one of the weird things is that licensed premises, even if they have stopped serving alcohol, they can't stay open."

He said there were premises with musical entertainment that could potentially open later.

"Once you stop serving drink you have to close down I think within half an hour or so, so they are really archaic," he said.

"I think we can do better for people who enjoy the night in Ireland and tourists and it is something that we are very much working on."