Consultation period on alcohol legislation extended

The consultation period on draft legislation that will allow indoor arenas such as the Odyssey to apply for a licence to sell alcohol has been extended by Social Development Minister, John Spellar.

His decision to allow a further six weeks for consultation is in response to representations made about the draft legislation in relation to the restriction on young people in licensed premises.

The Minister said: “The proposal will enable young people to purchase soft drinks and snacks from kiosks selling a range of items, including alcohol. This is similar to the position in public transport premises such as bus stations, railway stations, harbour terminals and airports. All of the other safeguards relating to young people in licensed premises will remain in place.”

The current legislation regulating the sale and consumption of intoxicating liquor in Northern Ireland is contained in the Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 which covers public houses, off-licences; hotels, guest houses and restaurants; conference centres; higher education institutions; places of public entertainment – currently theatres, ballrooms and certain racetracks, refreshment rooms in public transport premises; and seamen’s canteens.

It is currently not possible for an indoor arena to apply for a liquor licence as such venues were not envisaged when the licensing law was formulated. At present the Odyssey Arena relies on the discretion of the court to grant occasional licences permitting alcohol to be sold at events.

A draft Order in Council entitled The Licensing (Indoor Arenas) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 and an Explanatory Document were originally published for comment in July 2003. A short consultation paper containing the new proposal has been published for comment and the consultation period will end on March 31.

(MB)