Nightclubs and late bars will be able to avail of grants of up to €70,000 each to combat the problems of noise in residential areas.
The grants can be used to fund works such as the installation and replacement of noise cancelling systems, the construction of acoustic absorbers and the installation of outdoor noise barriers.
The Government plans to revolutionise the licensing laws, allowing some venues to stay open until 6am while other late-night bars will stay open until 2.30am.
The report of the night-time economy taskforce identified noise mitigation as an important consideration if nightclubs are going to stay open until 6am.
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Some €2 million is being allocated in capital funding for the measure by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
Late night venues will have to come up with at least 30 per cent of the funding themselves.
The scheme is being announced in advance of the plans to liberalise the licensing laws which is due to happen through government legislation later this year.
Minister Catherine Martin said Ireland should aspire to be like cities such as New York, Paris, Montreal and Berlin where culture thrives “right through the night”.
She said that if night venues are going to work in city centre locations where there are residents, they are going to have to be managed in a balanced way between the needs of locals and clubbers.
[ Dublin City Council rejects Wetherspoons sound barrier planOpens in new window ]
Sunil Sharpe of the Give Us the Night campaign, which aims to improve Ireland’s nightlife, said one person’s “noise is many other people’s musical enjoyment” and the increasingly densely populated city centre locations are a challenge to late night venues.
Mr Sharpe said the €2 million will “go a long way to protecting venues from neighbours’ complaints or potential closures” and has been welcomed across the nightclub sector.
He predicted that the scheme will help save venues, jobs and careers. “It could help to change perceptions around night-time venues and safeguard our social scene.”
He envisaged the appointment of nine night-time advisers across Ireland, as outlined in the taskforce, should make disputes more easily resolved.
A late night events pilot programme is being rolled out by the Arts Council to a dozen arts venues which will open their doors for electronic music, DJ nights, theatre or comedy.
The venues around the country, which are funded by the Arts Council, will be given grants of up to €60,000 each to open late at night as part of a pilot programme.
The minster announced funding to turn Moore Street market into an early evening and night-time outdoor food and culture centre during July and August.
Summer Nights at Moore Street will feature a selection of eclectic food stalls from around the world plus a full programme of street art, live music, storytelling, magic and circus performances.
It is hoped it will act as a potential pilot scheme for similar night time markets in other parts of the country.
