Tap Topic
Late bars, clubs and licensing
The Sale of Alcohol Bill, Special Exemption Orders, nightclub numbers and what the Government, the LVA and Give Us The Night are saying. Updated when anything moves.
Our pieces
The Record · 6 min
One in four pubs gone since 2005: what the records actually say about Irish pubs and restaurants
2,205 pub licences lost in twenty years, 83 nightclubs left from 522, menu prices 26% above 2020, and a €10.4 billion market that is growing in euros but not in customers.
Trade bodies · 5 min
What the VFI and LVA are asking for this autumn
Two vintners' bodies, two agendas: rural survival money and energy deals on one side, excise, late-night costs and taxis on the other.
Licensing · 5 min
Late licensing reform: where it stands in October 2026
Four years after the Sale of Alcohol Bill was announced, Special Exemption Orders at €205 a night are still the only way to trade late, and the Department of Justice will only say the timeframe will be set 'in due course'.
Poll · closes 30 Oct
Should nightclubs be allowed to open until 6am, as the Sale of Alcohol Bill proposed?
83 nightclubs remain from 522 in 2000, and the Bill has not moved since 2024. Where it stands.
From Irish sources
Headlines matching this topic from the trade bodies and papers we collect hourly. Each links to the original.
- Late Night openings in Late Bars & Nightclubs continue to decline – LVALicensed Vintners Association, 16 Sep 2026
Follow late bars
One email when something changes on this topic. Nothing else.