Irish theatre licence grants soar in late drinks ‘swill’

Published Thursday 27 March 2008 at 15:50 by Michael Quinn

A boom in the number of theatre licences being awarded in Ireland has sparked a political controversy.

Sanctioned by the Department of the Revenue Commissioners, licence numbers have swelled by 50% since 2003 with 98 theatre licences approved so far this year, compared to just 67 five years ago. In the past year in Dublin alone, 58 new licences were granted, a significant increase on the 35 awarded in 2003.

The figures have provoked a series of complaints from opposition parties, with Fine Gael opposition justice spokesman Charles Flanagan describing the increase as a “swill” that has little to do with live theatre and everything to do with encouraging late-night drinking.

A number of public venues, including cinemas, public bars and hotels, can apply for theatre licences on the basis that they will provide live performances if successful in their applications.

However, Labour’s Tommy Broughan, who secured the figures from the revenue department, described the situation as “a strange anomaly” and added that “there have been recent allegations that some hostelries are misusing the theatre license system to extend their regular licensing hours well into the early morning”. Current legislation only allows alcohol to be sold for 30 minutes after the end of a performance.

“The number of theatre licences being granted do not coincide with a revival of theatres or live music around the country,” Broughan told the Irish Independent.

A finance department spokesman said the figures were open to being misunderstood and were largely due to venues having to apply for extensions of licences on an annual basis.