Theatre Licences - Is McDowell Making A Big Mistake?

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell, has announced sweeping changes to our liquor licensing laws. On the Department’s website, the view is put forward that The Intoxicating Liquor (Codification) Bill 2005 is necessary to deal with continued and increasing problems related to the consumption of alcohol in Ireland. It goes on to say that the Bill represents “a broad range of reform proposals”, relating to many aspects of licensing and alcohol consumption.

No one could dispute that. The provisions include the allocation of new “café bar licences”, to discourage “the trend towards super pubs”; a new District Court procedure for processing of licences; and various ‘modernising’ strategies for “combating alcohol-related harm” in society.
Most interestingly for people involved in music, the legislation redefines what is permissible for premises with a theatre license in a way that will impact hugely on a number of venues in Dublin – in particular the MCD owned and operated Olympia Theatre, Ambassador, Spirit and the Gaiety Theatre, as well as The Sugar Club.
Reaction to these changes have been mixed, with night club owners rubbing their hands in glee at the obvious discomfort of theatres that have doubled as late-night venues ands clubs, and theatres crying foul at the loss of what can be a very useful source of supplementary income.
There is at least the possibility that some of the proposed changes, including the introduction of a special license for nightclubs, have come about as a result of lobbying by the Irish Nightclubs Federation and are designed to deal with anomalies in the treatment of different late night licenses. It has long been a bone of contention among those running places like Ri Ra, Traffic, the POD and Club M, for example, that they have to pay for special extensions to function at all, when premises with theatre licenses can carry on into the wee small hours without incurring any extra cost.
However, no one in the entertainment business can be happy that the Bill fails entirely to address the problem in the bigger urban centres around the country and in Dublin and Cork in particular, caused by the fact that people currently pour out of bars with extensions, nightclubs and clubs simultaneously.
“They say that they are concerned about the effects of drink and of violence on the streets,” one industry insider commented. “But it has been proven all over the world that staggered closing times are the answer to this. If you have tens of thousands of people in effect turfed out onto the streets between 2 and 2.30 in the morning, in a place like Camden Street, for example, there are bound to be difficulties. It is a recipe for public disorder. Yet, if anything, this latest Bill makes that problem even worse.
“They talk about binge drinking – but nothing is designed to accelerate that more than imposing what is essentially a curfew, with drinking ending all over the city at the same time.”
Given the range of vested interests affected, it is hardly surprising that opposition to the Bill has been mounting.
“There are three key issues that we’re concerned about in the new theatre licences,” Tania Banotti of Theatre Forum Ireland comments. “The first is that in order to get a theatre licence, all venues must be seated. Secondly, the new licence will not allow you to serve during a performance – most of the time bona-fide theatres wouldn’t serve booze during the show, but, again, there are certain kinds of events, particularly comedy and music, where people will legitimately expect to drink.
“And thirdly, children will not be allowed in theatre bars after 9pm in winter and 10pm in summer. This is a particular problem during the panto season. Plus, you have venues like The Helix in Dublin or Draiocht that do a week of children and family-friendly shows during the school holidays. At the moment, toilets are usually located in the bar area and the bar area itself is usually in the foyer of the theatre, so strictly speaking the children will have to remain in their seats during the interval!”
The requirement for shows to be seated would, in one fell swoop, hammer those theatres that have operated as clubs or late night venues.
Niamh O’Donnell, general manager of Dublin’s Project Arts Theatre, articulates her concerns. “There are certain kinds of events and shows, like a jazz night or cabaret, where it would be expected that we would serve drink during the show, as part of the culture of the work that we’re showing.
“We’re a contemporary arts centre. We run our business to the letter of the law. Now, I feel that we’re being penalised, or that how we function is restricted, because of people that have completely and blatantly abused the present system. So I’m supportive of changes being made – but I think that this bill needs to be amended.”
By the end of May, the Minister will be asked to respond to these grievances. As Tania says, “All the theatres are putting together a collective submission…we’re going to fight it every step of the way because the legislation was drafted with pubs in mind.
“I can understand that the officials always think of the worst case scenario, like lap-dancing clubs or late night drinking joints – but places that are not causing public order problems shouldn’t be treated identically to bars.”
There is an issue about the competence of the drafting of the bill – an extraordinary concern given the status of the Minister as a Senior Counsel. One provision seems to state that no alcohol is to be served during the interval, but all parties involved presume that this is simply a mistake in the wording, it seems so ludicrous. The Department of Justice were unable to clarify this at the time of going to press, but either way it will be addressed in the submission put forward by The Theatre Forum et al. to the Minister.

The Theatre Forum’s submission to the Minister will be posted on their website at www.theatreforumireland.com for those who want to have a look. And the Minister has asked for responses and reactions to the proposed Bill in his statement on www.justice.ie, so you can write to him at [email protected], or Michael McDowell T.D., Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, 72-76 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2. This is an issue that will ultimately affect anybody who goes out in the country. So if you like to have a drink while you’re watching a show, let the people who are making the changes know.