With proposed changes to opening hours for pubs and nightclubs under the Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022, people across Waterford are invited to have their say. Waterford City and County Council are holding an online public consultation as to whether or not certain controls should be put in place to limit noise from venues.
The council has received complaints from members of the public regarding music and patron noise from several establishments. Speaking to WLR News, Senior Engineer with the council, Niall Kane, says the lines are blurred when it comes to regulation.
"At the moment there is no clear guidance as to what is an appropriate time for noise or music in venues especially outside. Since COVID, there are a lot of outdoor areas, and if people are out there consuming alcohol you want to entertain them. We have establishments putting music in beer gardens, or just people generally enjoying themselves, and that has led to complaints [from residents] where it has gone on late into the evening.
"Our thoughts were maybe to set out in bye-laws, what would be reasonable to allow a time limit so people would know that this is the time that music can be played up to, beyond that it shouldn't be played outside but before that, it is acceptable as long as it's not blowing the head off people.
"So what we are doing is a public consultation, a pre-consultation. We are not coming up with any pre-conceived ideas, we just want the public's opinion to see if it is appropriate to implement by-laws, and what sort of time frame would be involved in restrictions if they were implemented.
"We are not trying to be killjoys. What we are doing is trying to find a balance between the nighttime economy and people having a good time and being able to enjoy themselves and the residents living in the area being able to sleep and enjoy the peace of their own house. We are just trying to find the right balance between those two competing demands."
Publicans opinions
"Nobody is interested in a 6:00 A: M closing time", says Jim Flash Gordon who owns and runs Revolution and Oscar's bars in Waterford City.
New legislation if passed, will see trading hours for pubs from 10.30 am to 12.30 am seven days a week, as well as allowing nightclubs to remain open until 6 am.
Helen McEntee has previously stated that the Sale of Alcohol Bill 2023 will replace rules that go back up to 200 years. According to Ms. McEntee's prior explanation, the measure would allow nightclubs to stay open until 6 a.m. and establish normal trading hours for pubs, from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 a.m., seven days a week.
Jim spoke to WLR News and continued, "I believe it is 22% of people under 25 that don't consume alcohol, and the growth in 0.0 non-alcoholic drinks is huge. There's also a lifestyle change. People go out for events they don't just go out every night of the week.
"I have talked to local publicans in the area, and some people in Purple Flag areas in Dublin, Sligo, and Cork. Nobody was interested in the 6:00 A: M closing time. There's a bit of scaremongering that pubs will be open all day and all night. There isn't a want from the public, I think except for Saturday night, where you might go until 3:00 A: M or 4:00 A: M, and that will be it."
When asked about the council's plans to run a pre-consultation regarding bye-laws being introduced in Waterford, he says he isn't too sure of their intention.
"As far as I know, you cannot have outdoor music after 10:00 P: M any night, and it's the same with concerts, etc. even in Dublin, so I don't know where this is coming from. I can see their fear as to pubs being open until 3:00 A: M in the morning, but in any of the outside areas within Waterford City, especially the Apple Market, we trade for food and drink outside until closing time. There is no outside music after 10 O'Clock, unless there is a festival like Spraoi etc."
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