A Pre-Consultation on Noise Bye-laws in Waterford is open to the public. Waterford City and County Council are considering whether any controls should be put on outdoor dining areas and beer gardens to limit noise nuisance to residents living in the vicinity.
It follows proposed changes to opening hours as part of the Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022, which may see late-night venues open until 6:00 A: M.
A meeting took place last week between several local publicans regarding the pre-consultation by Waterford Council.
Speaking to WLR News, Pat Crotty, CEO of the Vintners' Federation of Ireland says this can hurt local businesses.
"From my understanding, there are maybe one or two premises that have caused complaints to be made about noise, and if that be the case, then it would make a lot more sense for the council to deal with the one or two problems rather than to make a whole business of bye-laws that could result in neither the public nor the publicans being happy with the outcome.
"The preferred solution of the council is to make laws that will affect everyone, even people they don't need to have any effect on, because they are compliant. Their neighbors are happy, they are happy, and their customers are happy, so to me, it would be far more prudent and time efficient and cost-efficient for the council to deal with the specific problems that are there.
"Normally the easiest way to do that is with some kind of conciliation, or some kind of understanding between the members of the public who have the problem, and the publican who may be causing the problem."
Council Response
New laws if passed would see nightclubs and late-night venues open until 6:00 A: M under the Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022.
WLR reached out to Waterford City and County Council about the pre-consultation that is taking place, with the below response given.
"With the changes to opening hours proposed in the Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022, Waterford City and County Council is considering whether any controls should be put on outdoor dining areas and beer gardens to limit noise nuisance to residents living in the vicinity. The purpose of any public pre-consultation is to engage with the public to take account of opinions on relevant issues.
"As with any public consultation, Waterford City and County Council welcomes comments and suggestions from the public, stakeholders, community, and business groups, to help shape policies.
The first stage of this process (pre-consultation) is to identify if there is an appetite to implement change to the current status. If the Local Authority is informed that change is warranted, the second stage entails the drafting of bylaws which are then presented for a further round of public consultation."
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