Out-dated licensing laws

[Lionel Ritchie]

It should be promoted as national no alcohol day (I was going to say alcohol free day but that might give the wrong impression), that way people can't complain about the religious aspect. Personally I think it's appaling that people have such a problem not drinking for one day, that said I don't believe in denying them the right to buy alcohol either.

...There is some merit in this. It also permits the basic right to opt out that people do with national no smoking day and the blind ignorant indifference that's shown to car free day.

If anything the way it is at the moment encourages binge drinking, the off licences would be devastated if it was abolished seeing as the Thursday is their second busiest day of the year.

no small amount of truth here too.

Is it that difficult to give up 2 days a year? It is a sign of respect, and as a Christian nation, it is justified.

We're not a Christian nation. We're a nation with a large block of Christians living in it ...many of them a la carte or non-practicing.

But either way this is no more a christian nation for having lots of christians than it is a cow nation for having lots of cows.

[dahamsta]

While the Christian stuff is a valid point, it's a different debate. Move it to a new thread if you want to discuss it outside the specific context of this thread please.

[jebus]

Licensing laws in this country need to be completely overhauled.

I'd be in favour of leaving clubs, pubs and off licenses close whenever they want but surely even those absolute failures of human beings in government can see that something simple like pubs at 11 on a weekday is a disaster as this leads people to go on to a nightclub and stay drinking til 2 when by simply allowing them to have another pint or two in a pub would probably have satisfied them.

And shutting clubs at 2.30 on a Saturday night has led to many house parties where drinking goes on til 7 or 8 in the morning, when had people been allowed stay in a club or pub they probably would have gotten tired of it around about 3.30 or 4 and gone home.

Personal experience I know, but this is what I've found to happen under the licensing laws

[micls]

And shutting clubs at 2.30 on a Saturday night has led to many house parties where drinking goes on til 7 or 8 in the morning, when had people been allowed stay in a club or pub they probably would have gotten tired of it around about 3.30 or 4 and gone home.

Personal experience I know, but this is what I've found to happen under the licensing laws

It also causes far more trouble in the streets. You have every drunk person in the city centre dumped onto the streets at the same time, queuing for taxis etc, rather than leaving them wander off home at their own time

[pete]

I was driving down the country Friday evening & it was a glimse into what this country would look like without pubs. Streets were deserved with no traffic & 10pm looked like 4am on a normal weekend day. Bit of a 28 days moment...

[anto1208]

Licensing laws in this country need to be completely overhauled.

I'd be in favour of leaving clubs, pubs and off licenses close whenever they want but surely even those absolute failures of human beings in government can see that something simple like pubs at 11 on a weekday is a disaster as this leads people to go on to a nightclub and stay drinking til 2 when by simply allowing them to have another pint or two in a pub would probably have satisfied them.

And shutting clubs at 2.30 on a Saturday night has led to many house parties where drinking goes on til 7 or 8 in the morning, when had people been allowed stay in a club or pub they probably would have gotten tired of it around about 3.30 or 4 and gone home.

Personal experience I know, but this is what I've found to happen under the licensing laws

In theory that makes sense looking at it from the perpective of a reasonable person but you also have to factor in that Irish people are in large a bunch of retards. Its hard enough to deal with drunk people now never mind if there was endless drinking. If irish people drank their limit and went home there wouldnt be a problem but they dont.

The only way it would work is if they impossed 3 very strict laws(at least).

1. Pubs & clubs are not alloud to have or serve drunk people. similar to how it is in Oz.

2. A fine of 3 grand for getting so twisted you end up in A&E split open covered in sick swinging digs at the nurses. 1 of those fines would sort you out pretty quickly not this consequence-less binge drinking lifestyle we have.

3. You must have 70% seating for your capacity. This would remove the new super pubs where they take out all the seats pump up the music so people cant sit and talk so they end up standing & swamping drinks. Then when they are full of alco pops and aftershock they are all horsed out on the road at 2 30 to get cabs or chips or just looking for trouble.

[Lionel Ritchie]

1 is law here already Anto we just don't enforce it.

2 & 3 make great sense and would make it more difficult for a publican to reasonably deny his obligations under 1.

I think we also need to limit the capacity and spread of the supepubs as well. They are embedded now though and are a most unwelcome development in many respects.

[pete]

I think we also need to limit the capacity and spread of the superpubs as well.

What is a superpub? I could guess but not exactly sure.

[superfrank]

I assume something like Messrs or Dorans in Dublin.

[pete]

I assume something like Messrs or Dorans in Dublin.

What is so wrong with them? Surely there is a certain demand for that type of pub - generally younger customers.

[superfrank]

Well, it wasn't my argument but I'd say the problem with them is the sheer numbers they can pack in there. In Messrs, you can't move for the amount of chairs around the place.

[pete]

The state should stay away from telling us when we can drinking & otherwise. We already have a situation where pub licences restrict the market & drive up prices. Recently they changed the closing times in their effort to assist the Vintner special interest groups.

Subject to planning laws there is no reason to stop 24 pub opening times. Make drunks pay their bill for A&E & fine those drunk & disorderly in public. If you can drink without impacting on others you should be allowed to do so.