Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LICENSING TO CHILL..
Promoter welcomes reform of laws on bars’ opening hours
REFORMING Northern Ireland’s licensing law is a positive move forward, a music promoter said.
Bars and nightclubs will be able to serve for an extra hour, until 2am, nearly every Friday and Saturday if proposed changes become law.
Joe Dougan, whose Shine Belfast organisation oversees festivals such as Belsonic, added: “People will be able to stay out longer, they are not rushing to get out, it brings us into line with elsewhere. It is positive.”
Communities Minister Caral Ni Chuilin said: “This Bill strikes the right balance, ensuring a level of support to the hospitality sector, which we all agree is very much needed , while protecting the communities by ensuring sale of alcoholic drinks is controlled.
“There is significant support for these balanced proposals.”
Draft Stormont legislation also proposes to remove all restrictions on Easter drinking.
Mr Dougan said: “Easter was confusing and it made business conditions tougher for licensees.
“It is something that is pretty much a regional anomaly that would not be the case in the rest of the UK. That is a positive and progressive step forward for Northern Ireland.”
Supermarkets would face curbs on where they can place in-store advertising for alcohol and a voluntary code of practice for drinks promotions would be replaced with legal requirements.
The Assembly debated the matter yesterday.
Democratic Unionist MLA Paula Bradley chairs the Storm ont committee which will scrutinise the proposals in greater detail.
She said they represented important and long-awaited changes and could boost a tourism and hospitality
sector struggling with the impact of the pandemic. She added alcohol misuse costs £700million a year for healthcare, policing, prison and workplace absenteeism.
Mrs Bradley said: “I am confident a more flexible licensing framework with the appropriate safeguards will not only assist those sectors to rebuild following the Covid crisis but also ensure protections are in place to help tackle alcohol-related harm.”
She added changes were considerably wider than previously envisaged and could be in place for many years.
SDLP Assembly member Mark H Durkan, whose family owns licensed premises, said: “The local hospitality industry supports thousands of jobs, contributes £1.2billion every year to our economy.
“It is also a cornerstone of our growing tourism industry.”
But he expressed disappointment breweries and craft distilleries were not included in the reforms.
Mr Durkan added: “It is incredible these businesses, which are leading the charge on sustainability and innovation, are prevented from selling their products on site.
“We are tying one hand behind their backs.”