New proposals to tie pub licences into planning permission are being considered by the Minister for Justice, The Irish Times has learned.
This could restrict the development of "superpubs", or the expansion of existing pubs.
The proposal would mean that planning permission for the use of all of a building would have to exist before the liquor licence was issued. It would rule out building extensions to existing pubs without having to reapply for a licence.
Mr McDowell is known to feel that the growth in the number of "superpubs" has contributed to public order offences, and to favour the development of smaller, more intimate establishments, where drinking would be more easily controlled.
At the moment there is no link between the planning laws and the licensing laws. An objection to the grant of a theatre liquor licence to the whole of the Tivoli Cinema in 1992 failed on the grounds that the planning code and the licensing code are separate, although the High Court did state that the absence of planning permission could be relevant to the renewal of a licence.
This was pointed out by Temple Bar Properties in a letter to the Department last year. In its letter TBP, which is the State-appointed company responsible for developing the area as a cultural quarter, said: "We have seen in the past, and will no doubt continue to see, examples whereby premises can extend their licences to parts of the building which do not have the requisite planning permission. The impact of such extensions of drinking space can be acute in terms of noise, conflicts arising due to traffic, waste, public disorder etc.
"The only action which can then be taken is reactive, whereby a planning authority must take planning enforcement action against the offending premises. Such an approach is both time-consuming and expensive and not always effective because a use has been established through the issuance of a licence."
It would be better, according to TBP, to ensure that planning permission was legally required before a liquor licence could be issued.
Following a query from The Irish Times, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said yesterday: "Temple Bar Properties contacted the Department last year requesting a change to the licensing law to make planning permission a precondition for obtaining an intoxicating liquor licence.
"It is intended to propose in the future that planning permission be required in advance of obtaining a licence. This will be done in the context of codification of intoxicating liquor legislation."