New Alcohol Legislation re: Opening Hours

odyssey06

Apparently the government are passing legislation which will end early houses, also off licences can't open until 1030am - does anyone know if this affects supermarkets also? Will they be able to sell beer before 1030am?
Edit: Just read the full Indo article and apparently it will affect supermarkets.

Other features of the new legislation:
(1) Off-licence opening hours will be significantly cut back. They will open from 10.30am -- not 7.30am, as now -- until 10pm. Sunday opening hours will be from 12.30pm to 10pm.

(2) Provisions allowing early morning opening of pubs near fairs and markets will be repealed.

(3) Off-licences and the advertising of alcohol in supermarkets will have to be clearly separated. Where this is not possible, it must be sold from behind a counter.

(4) Gardai can seize drink from anyone in a public space if they look likely to cause disruption. Officers will also be able to take drink from those under 18 in public if they believe it is not going to be consumed in a private home.

(5) The Bill sets out detailed regulations to restrict or ban advertising drink at a cut price. In addition, regulations may be introduced to ban events which could encourage heavy drinking.

Please move if posted to wrong forum...

BeerNut

odyssey06 wrote: »

Sunday opening hours will be from 12.30pm to 10pm.

I'm especially miffed at this one, as the Government-appointed Advisory Group's recommendation was to standardise opening at 10.30 every day. But obviously there's a real danger someone going to 11 o'clock Mass will be tempted in to the offy to buy cans of Linden Village instead, with dire consequences for our national moral fibre.

odyssey06 wrote: »

Off-licences and the advertising of alcohol in supermarkets will have to be clearly separated.

Building this will take time. There'll be a planning process to be gone through in a lot of cases, I'd say. However, Tesco in Rathmines will be feeling particularly smug right about now.

odyssey06

I don't think (1) or (2) will make much difference. Is there is a significant problem with buying alcohol in supermarkets before 1030am? Or with early houses causing public disorder?

I thought Gardai already had the powers listed in (4).

Some supermarkets and shops have been a bit lax in (3) so this one seems fair enough.

And (5) is a bit questionable.

oblivious

odyssey06 wrote: »

I don't think (1) or (2) will make much difference. Is there is a significant problem with buying alcohol in supermarkets before 1030am? Or with early houses causing public disorder.

not really, but its looks like the government see the publican as a provider of good alcohol and off sale from shop as bad

the beer revolu

oblivious wrote: »

not really, but its looks like the government see the publican as a provider of good alcohol and off sale from shop as bad

I thought that offies couldn't open till 10.30 already.
Also, supermarkets don't see alcohol as soon as they open - again, I thought it was 10.30.

And to second the point; What is so different about Sunday for buying alcohol?

odyssey06

the beer revolu wrote: »

I thought that offies couldn't open till 10.30 already. Also, supermarkets don't see alcohol as soon as they open - again, I thought it was 10.30

Off licences couldn't open until 1030, but supermarkets could sell alcohol from 8am as part of their normal trading hours as they are "mixed traders". So the legislation is bringing the hours for mixed traders in line with pure off licences.

And Sunday has always been later at 1230 for both supermarkets and off licences.

lostexpectation

what about closing time and club hours???

BeerNut

the beer revolu wrote: »

And to second the point; What is so different about Sunday for buying alcohol?

"Remember the Sabbath Day, To Keep it Holy and not get Langered until the Early Afternoon, and Only Then in a Pub with Ear-Splitting Formula 1 on All Six Plasmas." -- Deuteronomy 5:12 (VFI edition).

lostexpectation wrote:

what about closing time and club hours???

No change yet, but late licensees must have CCTV installed.

The bill is here, btw.

Looks like there'll be no more collecting or using your supermarket loyalty points on drink either -- section 15.

Blisterman

odyssey06 wrote: »

(5) The Bill sets out detailed regulations to restrict or ban advertising drink at a cut price. In addition, regulations may be introduced to ban events which could encourage heavy drinking.

This is worrying.
Irelands enough of a rip off anyway. This is only going to make it worse.

Also "Encouraging heavy drinking". WFT? Can people not make decisions for themselves any more?

God I hate this whole nanny state bullcrap. It's amazing how the human race lasted until now, without these laws.

BeerNut

Blisterman wrote: »

Irelands enough of a rip off anyway. This is only going to make it worse.

Only if you're not a publican.

kenmc

odyssey06 wrote: »

In addition, regulations may be introduced to ban events which could encourage heavy drinking.

So there goes Paddys Day, Christmas and Weekends

DenMan

Take me back to Vienna. Down the road from the hotel was a EuroSpar and you can buy all alcohol from 7am. Happy Days

yoyo

Ok, So this means people will stock up knowing the offie will close earlier and prob get more drunk as a result on said day, more brilliant logic and ideas from the irish government, its it 100% official now?

Nick

BeerNut

yoyo wrote: »

its it 100% official now?

It's not the law yet, if that's what you mean. There's still time to write to your TDs to ask them to vote against it.

'Cos that'll work.

yoyo

BeerNut wrote: »

It's not the law yet, if that's what you mean. There's still time to write to your TDs to ask them to vote against it.

'Cos that'll work.

Lmao dont think they'll do anything, im not on the voting register which cant help lol!

Nick

grenache

odyssey06 wrote: »

I don't think (1) or (2) will make much difference. Is there is a significant problem with buying alcohol in supermarkets before 1030am?

Not in supermarkets, but in off-licences there is. I work in one in Limerick and we open at 9am. So from that early hour you have whinos coming in and buying drink, then drinking it outside on the streets surrounding the shop - its not good for the locality or the shops image. I'm delighted this legislation is being brought in - it will lessen the likelyhood of street drinkers hanging around in the early morning, and i get an extra 90 minutes in the leaba

BeerNut

And an early night as well.

oblivious

grenache wrote: »

and i get an extra 90 minutes in the leaba

Will they not have you in working away or will you not be down 90 minutes pay?

Blisterman

grenache wrote: »

Not in supermarkets, but in off-licences there is. I work in one in Limerick and we open at 9am. So from that early hour you have whinos coming in and buying drink, then drinking it outside on the streets surrounding the shop - its not good for the locality or the shops image. I'm delighted this legislation is being brought in - it will lessen the likelyhood of street drinkers hanging around in the early morning, and i get an extra 90 minutes in the leaba

Maybe the shops should just refuse to serve the Winos. It hardly helps their reputation, anyway.
I know the off licence in Clonskeagh does that.

grenache

oblivious wrote: »

Will they not have you in working away or will you not be down 90 minutes pay?

We will open at 10.30am so thats when i start work. One cannot do much work if the shop is not open. And yes i'll be down in pay, I do one or two 9-11 shifts per week, so now that will a 10.30-10 shift, thus i'll be receiving 2.5 hours less pay.

odyssey06

Update: The government has rowed back on a few features of the legislation. I think we should be worried when they base changes like this on 'anecdotal' evidence.

From today's Indo:
Justice Minister Dermot Ahern had cited "anecdotal evidence" that they were being used by problem drinkers, but told the Dail last night that he was "now disposed" to allow them to retain their early opening hours. The news has been welcomed by the owners of around 40 such pubs in the country, including the seven early houses in the Donegal fishing port of Killybegs, three in Cork city, and 12 in Dublin. However, the new Intoxicating Bill will not allow any new early houses to be opened and will prevent existing early houses from selling take-out alcohol in the mornings... The move to abolish the early houses was recommended by the Government's Alcohol Advisory Group, which said their original purpose when set up 80 years ago -- to serve fairs and markets -- no longer applied.
Mr Ahern also announced that he was deferring legislation which would have required supermarkets, petrol stations and shops to voluntarily introduce "separation walls" to keep alcohol products away from groceries.
He said he would allow retailers to implemented an independently verified "code of practice" (including separation walls) instead.

rubadub

odyssey06 wrote: »

Sunday opening hours will be from 12.30pm to 10pm.

Laws are still based around some mythological character supposed to have died 2000 years ago. Crazy stuff.

Hours were brought in to help with the war effort, the war is over guys, plenty of people do not work 9-5 anymore either, 24hr is the only fair thing to do. Why should shift workers have their social lives dictated to them with reasoning from the early 1900's or 2000 years ago.

BeerNut

rubadub wrote: »

Why should shift workers have their social lives dictated to them with reasoning from the early 1900's or 2000 years ago.

Because Irish people people have shown themselves consistently incapable of drinking sensibly. Liberalise drinking times and the country will asplode. Nanny has to control us because we can't control ourselves.

And, according to the TV, we've had enough.

Borderline prohibition right there is what that is there (said like John Giles)

Prof.Badass

If people feel their freedom is being limited then subconciously they will rebel.

That's why a very very small minority of people act irresponsibly.

Nothing bad will happen with 24 hour drinking cept for less people being stabbed coz everyone goes home at different times not only meaning less people on the streets at any time but also way smaller queues for taxi's.

Frankiestylee

odyssey06 wrote: »

(4) Gardai can seize drink from anyone in a public space if they look likely to cause disruption. Officers will also be able to take drink from those under 18 in public if they believe it is not going to be consumed in a private home.

..

I'm not a fan of that one really... I got a warning the other day after buying some beer. I was standing outside the shop where I bought the cans, just waiting for one of the other lads, stone cold sober and a garda walked by, stopped, doubled back and gave us a warning. I wish this bit of the bill was a bit less subjective, some members of the Gardai don't exactly have the best subjective judgement I've found.

sioda

Does this mean I can no longer get a breakfast at a pub at 8 in the morning??

BeerNut

Nope. The only way pubs are affected is a further reduction in the extent to which they need to compete for business. The early houses are safe. You'll need to go to one for your eye-opener as the petrol stations aren't allowed sell it to you for another half hour.

girl_friday

Apparently this all came into being at midnight tonight... I read the paper 5 out of 7 days and heard nothing about this til the news tonight! Apparently it will effect nightclubs too...

Anyone know if it effects bar extensions for special functions or residents bars in hotels?? Just curious as I have a few hens/weddings/50th birthday parties coming up...

Thanks

BeerNut

girl_friday wrote: »

Anyone know if it effects bar extensions for special functions or residents bars in hotels??

I shouldn't think so, unless they're using a dodgy theatre licence.

Elem

Theatre licence is gone so no more nightclubs.. everyones getting a publicans licence so you won't have 3.30 late opening anymore.