The Government is currently considering reforming our outdated laws governing the sale of alcohol.
"The Programme for Government commits to ‘modernising our licensing laws and application processes’ and the Justice Plan 2021 commits to reviewing and modernising alcohol licensing. In addition, the issue of outdated alcohol licensing legislation was a key challenge identified by stakeholders in the recently published report of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce.
Therefore, the Minister intends to modernise alcohol licensing laws through the Sale of Alcohol Bill. The existing laws governing sale and regulation of alcohol in Ireland have been rooted in principles of the transparent regulation and administration of licensing, the importance of public health and the maintenance of public order. These principles will underpin this reform process."
Because of the current situation, whereby commercial activity, namely the sale of alcohol, is governed by licensing, there is a school of thought that the market has been distorted. The deregulation of the taxi industry is quoted as an example of an industry where improvements of access to a service and ease of entry to the market were some of the benefits of deregulation.
In my view, if someone has a good business idea and wants to open a business, as long as they comply with planning laws and the rules governing the sale of alcohol to minors or drunks, then they should be allowed to do so.
The current situation where business is controlled by government and forced by law to close at the same time as all of their competitors leads to a mass exodus of consumers onto the street at the same time putting pressure on law enforcement, and ancillary businesses.
Here is a link to the consultation page:
"The Programme for Government commits to ‘modernising our licensing laws and application processes’ and the Justice Plan 2021 commits to reviewing and modernising alcohol licensing. In addition, the issue of outdated alcohol licensing legislation was a key challenge identified by stakeholders in the recently published report of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce.
Therefore, the Minister intends to modernise alcohol licensing laws through the Sale of Alcohol Bill. The existing laws governing sale and regulation of alcohol in Ireland have been rooted in principles of the transparent regulation and administration of licensing, the importance of public health and the maintenance of public order. These principles will underpin this reform process."
Because of the current situation, whereby commercial activity, namely the sale of alcohol, is governed by licensing, there is a school of thought that the market has been distorted. The deregulation of the taxi industry is quoted as an example of an industry where improvements of access to a service and ease of entry to the market were some of the benefits of deregulation.
In my view, if someone has a good business idea and wants to open a business, as long as they comply with planning laws and the rules governing the sale of alcohol to minors or drunks, then they should be allowed to do so.
The current situation where business is controlled by government and forced by law to close at the same time as all of their competitors leads to a mass exodus of consumers onto the street at the same time putting pressure on law enforcement, and ancillary businesses.
Here is a link to the consultation page: