Director of Bridge House welcomes new opening hours for night clubs

THE Director of the Bridge House and Palace nightclub in Tullamore, has welcomed legislation which will see nightclubs opening until 6am and closing times for pubs extended to 12.30am.

The Palace Nightclub at the Bridge House operates every Saturday night except on Bank Holiday weekends when it also opens on a Sunday night.

Director Connor Lenaghan believes the new legislation might bring more people into the town from surrounding areas.

'' It's obviously very positive news, but 6am might be too late for rural towns. Tullamore is different to Dublin and Galway where the demand might be there,'' he said.

''It's up to businesses to monitor the situation. I do think people will go out later and have a similar volume of drink. Also we might have two shifts of people, those who go out early and leave early and those who will go out later. It's hard to gauge until it comes into effect. It will depend on each venue. I don't think we will finish up at 6am. '' he said.

Is he worried about people becoming very drunk and passing out on the premises?

''We have a duty of care to the people to make sure they are safe and to monitor how much they are drinking.'' Connor also feels there will be less anti-social behaviour if patrons are coming out onto the streets at different times rather than all at once. However, he says he would like to see the new legislation piloted in a town like Tullamore to see how it goes before it is rolled out nationwide.

In a related announcement, Catherine Martin T.D., Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, has announced a pilot initiative, ''to support the development of a vibrant and diverse Night-Time Economy across the country.''

Support will be provided to 9 pilot cities and towns to enhance their night-time culture including Dublin City, Cork City, Limerick City, Galway City, Kilkenny, Drogheda, Sligo, Buncrana and Longford Town.

At a meeting of Tullamore Municipal District earlier this year, Councillor Tony McCormack put forward the suggestion that Tullamore should apply to take part in this scheme. It's not clear if his suggestion was taken on board, but Tullamore has not been included in the list of pilot towns.

Each of the 9 towns will see Night-Time Economy Advisors being employed to develop arts and culture at night.

Minister Catherine Martin said; ''It is one of my priorities as Minister to invest in bringing life and vitality back to our towns and villages through culture and arts, and supporting the Night-Time Economy is a crucial aspect of this.''

''Nine pilot towns and cities have been announced and they will recruit new Night-Time Economy Advisors who will help drive and support a more diverse and sustainable Night-Time Economy in their localities, engaging with the community, businesses, venues and artists to implement plans that make sense for each town or city.”

Senator Róisín Garvey, Green Party Spokesperson for Rural Development and Enterprise, Trade and Employment added;

''This pilot initiative announced by Green Party Minister Catherine Martin, along with the reform of the licencing laws, will finally bring Ireland out of the dark ages and revitalise the nightlife of our cities and towns.

We've seen this work so well in Europe where supports and extended opening hours leads to less antisocial behaviour, less noise issues and a better night life for the community.

When you extend opening hours, it means crowds move around the city or town at different times and it avoids a big spill out onto the streets all at one time. It means a healthier, happier, safer and stronger community as well as night time economy."

Minister Martin secured €6 million in budget 2023 for developing the Night-Time Economy and as part of the announcement has also committed to working with the sector and other relevant stakeholders to develop a grant process for sound-proofing of suitable venues.