After Hours - short documentary looking at nightclubs with a particular focus on opening hours and licensing laws

[Dr. FIVE]

https://vimeo.com/42336787



Give us the night was formed in 2004 with the aim of promoting sequential or staggered closing times between bars, late bars and nightclubs across Ireland and creating debate and logical discussion about licensing laws. The latter being no easy task in itself.

You can read a recent interview with head honcho Sunil Sharp over on Rabble and Constantin Gurdgiev’s report for the Irish Nightclub Industry Association on the impact of Ireland’s licensing laws can be found here.

Both Fine Gael and particularly Labour have made noises about bringing nightclub opening hours in line with the 21st century rest of the EU in the past. They’ve been elected now of course but the Minister in charge Alan Shatter has spoken encouragingly twice in Dáil as late as October. So Vintner lobby/Joe Duffy withstanding, it’s likely the Sale Of Alcohol Bill will include provisions relating to the operation of nightclubs sometime in late this year but probably 2013.

[musashi]

This issue is particularly close to my heart. Time and again I've found myself at a loose end come 02:30-03:00 in the big schmoke, nowhere to go but various nefarious establishments secreted about the inner city. And then the horror of having to negotiate the streets at that time, don't even talk about the taxi queues.

It would be great if closing time were staggered throughout the small hours, that way you don't have a tsunami of inebriated frolickers punching, puking, and roaring their way along our streets at the same time each Saturday night.

In fact, do away with closing time completely.

[Dr. FIVE]

Labour 'sources' talking out their hats today if you look back to the last line of the OP above

Consequently, Labour sources fear the proposals in Ms Shortall's memorandum to Government may be put on the back-burner by Cabinet and deferred until autumn for consideration.

"There’s a lot of push back on this. We're afraid they may kick to touch, just when leadership is needed on alcohol misuse," said a Labour source last night.

[Baron von Biffo]

This issue is particularly close to my heart. Time and again I've found myself at a loose end come 02:30-03:00 in the big schmoke, nowhere to go but various nefarious establishments secreted about the inner city. And then the horror of having to negotiate the streets at that time, don't even talk about the taxi queues.

It would be great if closing time were staggered throughout the small hours, that way you don't have a tsunami of inebriated frolickers punching, puking, and roaring their way along our streets at the same time each Saturday night.

In fact, do away with closing time completely.

Doing away with closing time altogether is probably the best way to deal with the hordes of drunks all on the street at the same time. Staggered times will just prolong the misery for urban dwellers as there's a fresh wave of arseholes every half hour.

[Dr. FIVE]

Doing away with closing time altogether is probably the best way to deal with the hordes of drunks all on the street at the same time. Staggered times will just prolong the misery for urban dwellers as there's a fresh wave of arseholes every half hour.

This is true Baron but there is little hope given the hysteria and craven attitude politicians have towards the issue. The best we can hope for would be staggered closing along with Gardai making proper use of their powers to move people on.

The problem is up to now everyone is treated like a wave of arseholes when it always the minority.

[Kev Bar]

https://vimeo.com/42336787



Give us the night was formed in 2004 with the aim of promoting sequential or staggered closing times between bars, late bars and nightclubs across Ireland and creating debate and logical discussion about licensing laws. The latter being no easy task in itself.

You can read a recent interview with head honcho Sunil Sharp over on Rabble and Constantin Gurdgiev’s report for the Irish Nightclub Industry Association on the impact of Ireland’s licensing laws can be found here.

Both Fine Gael and particularly Labour have made noises about bringing nightclub opening hours in line with the 21st century rest of the EU in the past. They’ve been elected now of course but the Minister in charge Alan Shatter has spoken encouragingly twice in Dáil as late as October. So Vintner lobby/Joe Duffy withstanding, it’s likely the Sale Of Alcohol Bill will include provisions relating to the operation of nightclubs sometime in late this year but probably 2013.

That's sane and sharp.

[Dr. FIVE]

Made this there to show how a nightclub in Dublin compares to some of it's contemporaries around Europe

[Sidewinder]

Licensing laws in Ireland, north and south, are just pathetic. It's embarrassing really.

It's possible to drink round the clock here in NZ, at least in the cities, if you really want to, can afford to, and your liver doesn't mind. Bars open and shut at all sorts of different times but there's always somewhere open. The majority of bars close at either 1am, 3am or 5am in Welly (rural areas still tend to close earlier at 11 or 12) but there are other places that specifically cater for shift workers etc by opening at odder hours. And those places are all well-run establishments, not dangerous dives.

Even on busy festival weekends the main drags of Courtenay Place and Cuba Street are relaxed and enjoyable places to be at any time of the evening. There's no mad dash to get the last round of shots in before closing time, people come and go from the bar as it suits them, there's not hordes of tanked-up eejits all fighting for food and taxis at the same time at 2am, everyone is relaxed, and on the rare occasion some lad is causing trouble the bouncers and cops are all professional and organised and deal with the situation with a minimum of fuss.

Ireland seriously needs to cop on and come crawling out of the dark ages.

[Kev Bar]

Licensing laws in Ireland, north and south, are just pathetic. It's embarrassing really.

It's possible to drink round the clock here in NZ, at least in the cities, if you really want to, can afford to, and your liver doesn't mind. Bars open and shut at all sorts of different times but there's always somewhere open. The majority of bars close at either 1am, 3am or 5am in Welly (rural areas still tend to close earlier at 11 or 12) but there are other places that specifically cater for shift workers etc by opening at odder hours. And those places are all well-run establishments, not dangerous dives.

Even on busy festival weekends the main drags of Courtenay Place and Cuba Street are relaxed and enjoyable places to be at any time of the evening. There's no mad dash to get the last round of shots in before closing time, people come and go from the bar as it suits them, there's not hordes of tanked-up eejits all fighting for food and taxis at the same time at 2am, everyone is relaxed, and on the rare occasion some lad is causing trouble the bouncers and cops are all professional and organised and deal with the situation with a minimum of fuss.

Ireland seriously needs to cop on and come crawling out of the dark ages.

How do I say I agree in "gibberish?"

[Slim Buddha]

It wasn't long ago when we heard of pubs in Dublin being sold for insane sums of money. In the days when the smoking ban was yet to become the lonsome camel of an idea to cross the Sahara of Michael Martin's mind. The Vintners Association had it all their own way. The publicans, overwhelmingly FFers n my experience, were just another lobby group who could "write their own legislation" and hand it in to Aras De Valera/Galway Tent/Ard Fheis/wherever knowing that they'd get the laws they paid for and no questions asked.

Opening and closing times suited publicans and they didn't change. It does not suit the public, it probably does not suit the police and it is not geared to align itself with what passes for public transport in Ireland. But it suits the publicans and they dictate when a place can open and shut, what they can serve and what they cannot.

Michael McDowell tried, in 2006, to enable cafès sell bottles of beer in order to introduce something like European-like cafès here. The knuckle-draggers and backwoodsmen of FF shot that down pronto. And that is the way it will always be because this government is of a similar closed-minded conservative bent. Intelligent debate on this issue is in my opinion quite some distance away. And Ireland remains light years behind the rest of the world, particularly the rest of Europe. This is very much an example of Britain acting as a shield blocking any intelligence from Europe getting in to the country.

[Dr. FIVE]

Tis true. NAMA, health cuts, school closures sail through the house while any all attempts to change the status quo around pubs was met with back bench revolt. There is still a big element of "if we could just people back into the pubs" around though. These moves against low cost selling etc are a much down to that as any health concern. Not pushed how much people are drinking so long as it's in the pub.

What I am hoping for now is nightclubs - and what they are for - will finally be recognized by law. Doesn't matter if the bar closes so long as the dancefloor stays open. The vintners lobbied hard for the current set up where they can make their money in short few hours.

[Dr. FIVE]

from GUTN today

Today we sent a new submission to justice minister Alan Shatter regarding the pending sale of alcohol bill, and our ideas for change to opening hours. Will keep you all updated on our next contact with him or his department, thanks

Ructions between Shortall, FG and the industry, Phoenix Park aftermath and global collapse aside, we should see the sale of alcohol bill on the agenda for this Dáil term

[fluffybiscuits]

from GUTN today




Ructions between Shortall, FG and the industry, Phoenix Park aftermath and global collapse aside, we should see the sale of alcohol bill on the agenda for this Dáil term

Shortall wants to raise the price of alcohol but regardless people will still drink at home and then head out or stay in for the rest of the night. Tresor in Berlin is a great example of why we should stagger hours, go to bed for a few hours on a Saturday night, get up about four and go clubbing and come home and sleep off the alcohol or just not worry about drinking as much as possible in the smallest amount of time possible. The governments position is more reactive than proactive at the moment, a lot of outdated thinking seems to prevail in the minds of those shaping the legislation at the moment and this is driving the laws even more scatty. The best way of operating it is to allow for more establishments or big clubs to open till the last customer goes home as happens in Germany or to let everyone come home at ten in the morning, eleven etc etc. This would benefit the taxi industry too , more business and opportunity for them to make a couple of quid at he weekend. The gay community certainly needs it, nothing worse than being off yer box drunk at four in the morning, dying for a leg over and chips and then going the sauna and chasing the aul tail for four hours. !