Nightclub owners yesterday claimed that gardaí appeared to have abandoned plans to object to the granting of late licences for premises in Dublin city centre.
A number of late licences and dance licences for pubs and nightclubs were yesterday granted by Dublin District Court; applications for city-centre nightclubs are due to be heard before the court today and tomorrow.
The Garda yesterday declined to comment on whether it would lodge any objections to the licences, while one source said matters were still under consideration.
Senior members of the force in Dublin met last week to consider public-order issues arising from late-night drinking and reportedly decided to lodge objections when the cases came up this week. If successful, the move would force some nightclubs to close at 1.30 a.m.
Mr Robbie Fox, a spokesman for the Irish Nightclub Industry Association, said objections later this week were not expected.
"It's great news, it means our industry is saved," Mr Fox said. "There was a huge public outcry to these plans. We'll continue doing what we have been doing. If anything, we're looking to extend the licensing hours, not restrict them."
A spokeswoman for the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, declined to comment except to say it was a matter for the Garda to object to licence applications.
However, in a move which some industry sources saw as significant, the Minister said in a radio interview yesterday that licensing legislation did not provide for blanket objections and each case would have to be considered on its own merits.
Nightclubs operate under normal licensing laws for pubs, but have to regularly seek special exemption orders to allow them to stay open later. Dance licences are also reviewed annually and a number of nightclubs are due to have their applications heard before the court this week.
The Irish Nightclub Industry Association had argued that the Garda plans had little to do with tackling public-order offences, and had more to do with lack of Garda resources.
Mr Fox said forcing nightclubs to close at 1.30 a.m. would have resulted in 30,000 drinkers being let out on to Dublin's streets at the same time, creating the potential for even bigger public order problems.
Reports of the Garda's plans sparked an internet-based campaign. The website, www.giveusthenight.com, had received more than 10,000 signatures yesterday.
