Pub opening hours are to be extended and the licensing system dramatically changed under new legislation approved by the Government yesterday.
Under the wide-reaching Bill, pubs will remain open until 12.30 a.m. with half an hour drinking-up time on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays all year round.
During the rest of the week bars will stay open until 11.30 p.m. with 30 minutes drinking-up time. The legislation will effectively abolish the difference between summer and winter pub trading.
The Intoxicating Liquor Bill, brought to Cabinet yesterday by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, also abolishes the traditional Sunday "holy hour" closing between 2 and 4 o'clock, The Irish Times has learned.
The Bill will remove the restriction on the granting of a special exemption for any time after midnight on a Saturday night.
The requirement to provide a meal as part of a special exemption is to be lifted. In addition licensed premises will be allowed stay open on New Year's Eve until 12.30 a.m. no matter what day it falls on.
The legislation, which is expected to be published in days, also provides for major changes in the way a licence is acquired and gives even treatment to the application for a licence in rural and urban areas.
It is understood that the Bill proposes abolishing the current ban on the granting of a licence within one mile of an existing licensed premises.
Under the Bill a licence can be given anywhere in the State in substitution for an existing licence if the Circuit Court is happy as to the fitness of the applicant.
It is understood that the new Bill will also contain strict new provisions aimed at cutting down on the supply of alcohol to under age persons.
Penalties for breaching the law may result in the closure of a licensed premises for a period or the endorsement of a licence by a judge.