Pubs and Clubs to get longer opening hours

Personal responsibility comes into play here Fr. Tod.

And I'm sure you managed to make the right decision as do most people.

As for AAI, they insisted on MUP to control our drinking in the safety of our own home.

Now they are fretting about us ending up in hospital if we go out for a drink.

Let's face it their problem is with us drinking at all.

Times tonight makes things more confusing

Guess 12.30 is last orders in all bars

I'm in two minds on this. On the one hand it would get us in line with other countries.

On the other hand no one can possibly deny this country has a disturbingly dysfunctional relationship with alcohol versus most other countries.

We all know the trouble that happens when clubs close on a weekend.

It's a definite risk to implement here. Would we simply be transferring the problems to all parts of the day?

We all know people on a night out who, but for last orders, would drink until they couldn't stand.

Will people be going to work as drunks fall out of establishments first thing in the morning?

Would we be making a chronic societal problem just worse?

These are not unreasonable questions to ask.

Basically to be won over by the arguments you have to believe that more access will mean less drinking, less problems.

That's a hard argument to make in Ireland, sadly.

On the one hand it would get us in line with other countries.

On the other hand no one can possibly deny this country has a disturbingly dysfunctional relationship with alcohol versus most other countries

Its almost as if our dysfunctional relationship with alcohol is a result of our prohibition style laws around alcohol availability

Far too expensive to do that nowadays. Almost €6 a pint of Guinness with another price rise incoming.

I’d say the negotiations would go something like “Ok lads, you have to do the job you’re paid for during the hours your shift is scheduled for”.

Seems fairly handy.

You've obviously not had to recruit and retain hospitality staff recently.

Why would hospitality staff be working for An Garda Siochana??

Well they wouldn't be would they.

The overnight hospitality provided by AGS is nobody's first choice 🙂

I think there’s some confusion here. Someone asked how would we get the Gardai to police the new opening hours, I said they should be told to go out and do what you’re paid for, on the shift you’re scheduled for?

You would imagine so. Instead of every person in Dublin flung out at the same time, I reckon with a staggered closing time it would be a lot easier to manage. A few quick response cars dealing with various incidents at different times rather than having to control everything all at once.

The very very simple solution then is to not stay open for the extended hours if you don't have the staff.

Allowed opening hours are not mandatory opening hours and it's time the Irish copped on to this.

As for transport the public transport already finishes before nightclubs so that won't need to change and taxies are already 24 hour.

The reason people drink at home is because of cost of drink iñ pubs, restaurants and clubs..Ya the odd late house party may not happen but in general longer opening hours means dearer pints so it encourages more home drinking.

The other reason drinking moved from ordinary pubs to houses is atmosphere, because of drink driving laws ( and I am not complaining about them) people who drove to work had either to stop drinking later in the night nearer closing time and as pubs were quite between 7-9pm they tend to have a few cans at home.

30+ years ago the difference between a can bought in and off licence and a pint was miniscule now its a minimum of half the price and can be as low as a quarter or a third.

A bottle of wine in a restaurant is 2-4 times the price in an off licience

In Australia they have 'responsible serving of alcohol' laws, if they send punters out paralytic they're held responsible for any harm they do to themselves or others.

When was the last time you ever saw someone in Ireland refused a drink, in what the vintners' associations like to smugly call a "controlled environment" ?

BTW Australia is the country that used to have the "six o'clock swill" where it was thought, by social control freaks, that strictly limiting drinking hours would reduce harm. It did precisely the opposite.