Ireland’s nightlife suffers under outdated laws – O’Donoghue
Ireland’s nightlife suffers under outdated laws - O’Donoghue - The Labour Party
- Ireland has earliest closing times in Europe
- Labour calls for urgent support for night-time economy
Speaking following the launch of The Rhythm of the Night report by Give Us the Night, Labour’s Culture Spokesperson Rob O’Donoghue TD has slammed the Government’s failure to act on licensing law reform, describing current nightclub regulation as “a hangover from de Valera’s Ireland” that continues to punish youth, culture, and the arts.
Deputy O’Donoghue said:
“Today’s report tells us what we have long been observing: Ireland’s nightlife is in dire straits, and the Government appears to have lost interest in this matter.
“What was a much-discussed issue under the last Government has now completely dropped off the legislative agenda. That paints a bleak picture for our cultural and economic future.
“Since the year 2000, 522 nightclubs have closed across the country. That’s 522 youth spaces gone. 522 creative and cultural spaces lost. Thousands of jobs vanished. Ten counties now have just one official nightclub each — an underreported but significant urban-rural divide. And Dublin, our capital city, has seen its number of nightclubs collapse to just 23. That is an appalling figure for a European capital. Even my own former haunt of Shenanigans in Skerries has gone.”
Deputy O’Donoghue placed the blame squarely on Ireland’s outdated licensing regime:
“Among the many factors, the key culprit is our licensing law. We are still governed by the 1935 Public Dance Halls Act. Think of all the progress we’ve made in Irish society since 1935 — yet our nightlife is still stuck in that past.
“We still have the earliest closing times in Europe. And we’re now on track to have the weakest night-time economy in Europe too.”
Labour is calling on Government to urgently bring licensing reform back onto the legislative agenda and to give more control of Ireland’s nightlife to cultural venues, artists, and young people themselves.
“It must be a priority to modernise our licensing laws,” Deputy O’Donoghue concluded. “Our cultural life, youth expression, and night-time economy all depend on it.”