Licensing Query

kronsington

I hope someone can help me this. I have zero experience with licensing and could use some guidance here. Basically this is a situation where we have a client (a company) who owned a pub and leased that pub to another company. The company who took on the lease ceased trading some time last year and failed to renew the Publicans Ordinary Seven Day licence attaching to the Pub. Our client now has posession of the premises again and wants to apply for a new licence in its name. I am trying to find out what the procedure is to do so and also some info as to costs.

Any assistance or guidance on this would be appreciated.

Cheers

K

Milk & Honey

It is a an application to the Circuit Court for a new licence on the basis that there has been a licence on the premises within the past 5 years. It will require a reasonably competent barrister and I would expect the minimum fee charged would be €1500 by the barrister. The main cost will be an architect. Drawings will have to be submitted and both the guards whose area covers the premises and the guards whose area covers the residence of the applicant and the local fire officer will have to be notified and served. The County Registrar and the District Court Clerk have to be served. Advertising in the papers will be necessary. The publican could be looking at a total bill of 15K. It may also happen that the fire officer will demand work be done to the premises.

nuac

I agree with Milk and Honey.

If it is an old premises the Fire Officers requirements may be expensive as standards are getting stricter all the time.

You will also require a Tax Clearance Cert before the Revenue will issue the licence.

It would be worthwhile for your solicitor to call to the DC office to check the exact position. I recall a case many years ago where there was a lapse but for some unrelated reason the annual licensing court had been adjouirned well into the following year, and we were able to squeeze thru - but that was then!

Good luck - the licensing "code" is a labyrinth stgretching back to 1833

Tom Young

I've done five or six of these, recently. The checks are similar to new proofs, if Revenue Clearance was not submitted and there is a lapse or extinction, sometimes the courts can order various sorts of advertising.

If you're not the owner/operator you can't do anything with the license.

By the way, we don't do legal advice. Nothing in the above posts should be relied upon, even though the posters are practitioners and reliable.

Each case is specific and different. This a complex area of law, procedurally.

That fee estimate might be higher, based on what the actual circumstances are. These applications can be fierce messy.

Tom

Tom Young

There is a user guide to the license trade, which summarises recent developments very well - by Constance Cassidy. Clarus Press.

It may not be enough to get it over the line, but for a start, start there.

ResearchWill

Tom Young wrote: »

There is a user guide to the license trade, which summarises recent developments very well - by Constance Cassidy. Clarus Press.

It may not be enough to get it over the line, but for a start, start there.

I assume you are referring to The Licensed Trade: A User's Handbook, which had a co author Michael McGrath. (I only mention as he is a mate lol)

Unless you are referring to Cassidy Licencing Acts which would be aimed more at the legal profession.

Tom Young

I couldn't remember the co-author, yes.

Sure, you'd need a bus to get the main ones from A to B

Edit: That's a publicans guide, of course.