Outdoor drinking to be allowed in authorised areas under newly proposed law

Outdoor drinking will be allowed in seated areas authorised by local authorities or privately owned by pubs under a proposed new law approved by Cabinet on Monday evening.

The Cabinet held an incorporeal meeting in a bid to provide “absolute clarity” on the laws surrounding outdoor drinking.

The proposed law will be put before the Dáil on Wednesday with a view to being passed by the Oireachtas by the end of the week.

It comes ahead of a major Government decision on whether or not to allow indoor services to resume in restaurants and pubs from July 5th.

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The Government is awaiting National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) advice on this matter ahead of an expected meeting by senior ministers on Monday night and a final Cabinet decision on the matter on Tuesday morning.

In recent days it has been viewed within Government as unlikely that Nphet advice will recommend that the reopening should go ahead due to concern over the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant of Covid-19, though Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said today that it’s “not inevitable” that this will be the outcome.

Monday evening’s incorporeal meeting has been called to discuss the law on outdoor drinking and as one source put it provide “absolute clarity” on the matter.

It comes after a statement from Gardaí just over a week ago that said the serving of alcohol in such outdoor areas is illegal, even when those areas have been approved by local authorities as part of the Government’s reopening roadmap.

Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys got Cabinet approval this evening for a Bill designed to bring clarity to the issue of consuming alcohol in designated seated areas outside pubs and restaurants.

A spokesman said “the overwhelming majority of pubs and restaurants are operating successfully and the Government is determined to support the industry throughout this challenging period.”

He added: “Minister Humphreys, following consultation with the Attorney General, felt that a short piece of time-bound primary legislation would provide absolute clarity to businesses, local authorities and An Garda Síochána.

“It will allow for the sale and consumption of alcohol in seated outdoor areas, including those authorised by local authorities or those privately owned adjacent to the licensed premises but not currently subject to a licence, subject to a number of conditions.”

Extended enforcement powers

For those areas already given a permit by local authorities, these conditions would be the conditions already set by the local authority, such as on the number of customers allowed to be seated outside.

For areas which are privately owned and not currently subject to a local authority permit, the conditions will be detailed in the full Bill, which will be published on Tuesday.

The Bill will also extend existing enforcement powers available to An Garda Síochána, currently available to ensure licensed premises are operating in line with Covid regulations, to these new conditions.

The spokesman said: “This would operate in line with the graduated policing response adopted by An Garda Síochána throughout the pandemic, which has seen Gardaí operate the four ‘Es’ – engage, educate, encourage and, only as a last resort, enforce.”

He added that: “Given the hugely successful operation of outdoor dining and drinking to date, Minister Humphreys does not anticipate these powers being used frequently.”

Under the powers, An Garda Síochána can direct a licensed premises owner to come into compliance with the conditions on outdoor seated areas.

If that does not happen a Garda superintendent or higher-ranked officer has the power to issue an immediate closure order to close a premises for the remainder of the day.

Where there has been more than one example of non-compliance, the Gardaí can apply to the District Court for an emergency closure order, which can last up to three days.

Where a Garda is of the view that non-compliance is continuing or is likely to recur, an application can be made to the District Court for a temporary closure order for a week in the first instance

A second temporary closure order can be granted for a period up to one month

The Public Order Act will also apply to outdoor seated areas.

Failure to operate an outdoor seated area in accordance with the provisions of this Bill can also be grounds for objection to the renewal of the licence.

The provisions of the Bill will expire on November 30th unless renewed by the Oireachtas for a further period of six months