NIGHTCLUB OPERATORS say their industry faces "meltdown" if the Government goes ahead with plans to force them to shut earlier.
The Irish Nightclub Industry Association (INIA) says jobs will be lost in the industry as a result of the changes proposed in the Intoxicating Liquor Bill currently before the Oireachtas.
The Bill aims to close a loophole in the law that opened following a High Court decision last year. The loophole has allowed clubs to obtain theatre licences and so remain open until 3.30am.
The Bill proposes a reversion to the position where pubs and clubs must seek an opening hours special exemption. This will mean they must close at 2.30am on Monday to Saturday nights and at 1am on Sunday night/Monday morning.
Introducing the Bill in the Dáil last month, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said it was designed "to tackle public disorder and alcohol-related harm resulting from excessive alcohol consumption".
Sunil Sharpe, a DJ and spokesman for the Give Us The Night campaign, which is organising a protest today outside the Dáil, said the proposal to curb club opening hours showed a misunderstanding of Irish nightlife.
"The Intoxicating Liquor Bill would prove a disaster to the Irish entertainment industry. Jobs will certainly be lost," said Barry O'Sullivan, chief executive of the INIA. "Dermot Ahern and Oireachtas members owe it to the Irish public to slow down and consider other strategies that have proven successful in other countries, such as staggered opening hours. This is the only way forward."
Mr O'Sullivan urged the Government to seek a more progressive and creative policy.
The INIA had not organised the Give Us The Night protest, he said, but supported its aims.
Dáil debate: page 8
