JUSTICE MINISTER HELEN McEntee has said part of her plan to overhaul the country’s licensing laws also includes ensuring that “it’s safe that people can get to and from our towns and cities and villages” after a night out.
The minister told The Journal that she will be bringing forward a bill to Cabinet in the autumn that will give the green light for nightclubs and pubs to open late into the night.
The legislation, which she says she plans to enact “as quickly as possible”, is part of the overall night time economy task force, which is being led by Tourism Minister Catherine Martin.
“It’s not just about making sure that we have a vibrant and open night time economy but that it’s safe that people can get to and from our towns and cities and villages,” said McEntee.
The National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport are key members of that task force, said McEntee, adding that there is ongoing work relating to “public transport late at night” once the new law comes into place.
She said expanded public transport services across the board will be needed once the new law is enacted.
There are “strands of work and committees” looking at “how we expand our services, to not just the Luas, but Dublin Bus, our buses outside of the main city and also looking at taxis, which I know is a problem at the moment and has been perhaps more of a problem since post Covid”.