Intoxicating Liquor Act 1924

PART I. PROHIBITED HOURS.

1 Extension of prohibited hours.

1.—(1) From and after the passing of this Act it shall not be lawful for any person to sell or expose for sale any intoxicating liquor or to open or keep open any premises for the sale of intoxicating liquor on any day not being a Saturday, Sunday, Good Friday, Christmas Day or St. Patrick's Day before the hour of nine o'clock in the morning or after the hour of 10 o'clock in the evening, or on any day being Saturday before the hour of nine o'clock in the morning or after the hour of half-past nine in the evening.

This sub-section shall not apply to any licensed person who is the owner or lessee of a theatre, music hall or other place of public amusement.

(2) Where any business other than the sale of intoxicating liquors is carried on in any licensed premises the whole of such premises shall be closed during the hours in which the sale of intoxicating liquor is prohibited by this section, unless the portion of such premises in which such sale is carried on is structurally separated from the remainder thereof.

(3) From and after the passing of this Act it shall not be lawful for any person to sell or expose for sale any intoxicating liquor or to open or keep open any premises for the sale of intoxicating liquor on Christmas Day, Good Friday or St. Patrick's Day. This sub-section shall apply to hotels with the modification that it shall not operate to prevent the sale of intoxicating liquor to a lodger in the hotel at and for consumption with a meal.

(4) From and after the passing of this Act no person shall be admitted to any theatre, music hall or other place of amusement licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquor after the hour of half-past nine in the evening unless either—

(a) he has previously engaged or paid for a seat in that theatre, music hall, or place of public amusement for the performance or entertainment then in progress; or

(b) he is employed in that theatre, music hall, or place of public amusement or has business with a person so employed.

(5) From and after the passing of this Act the fact that a person is a bona fide traveller within the meaning of the Licensing (Ireland) Acts, 1833 to 1905 shall not entitle him to purchase or be supplied with intoxicating liquor—

(a) between the hours of seven o'clock in the morning and one o'clock in the afternoon on any Sunday, or

(b) at any time on Christmas Day or Good Friday.

(6) Nothing in this section shall vary or impair the rights enjoyed by the holders of licences for hotels and restaurants within the Dublin Metropolitan Police district under the Hotels, and Restaurants (Dublin) Act, 1910.

2 Amendment to Section 29 of Licensing Act (Ireland), 1874.

2.—Section 29 of the Licensing Act (Ireland), 1874, shall be construed and have effect as if the words “in any part of such house other than the part in which such sale usually takes place” were added at the end of that section.

3 Early closing licences.

3.—(1) Section 2 of the Licensing Act (Ireland), 1874, shall from and after the passing of this Act be construed and have effect as if the principal Act referred to therein were this Act.

(2) The holder of an early closing licence within the meaning of section 2 of the Licensing Act (Ireland), 1874, (whether such licence was granted before or after the passing of this Act), shall close the premises to which such licence relates at night one hour earlier than the ordinary hour after which the sale of intoxicating liquor is prohibited by this Act, and the provisions of this Act shall apply to such premises as if such earlier hour were the hour after which the sale of intoxicating liquor is prohibited by this Act.

4 District Justice may order immediate closing of licensed premises.

4.—Whenever a Justice of the District Court sitting for any district outside the Police District of Dublin Metropolis is satisfied on the written application of a Superintendent or an Inspector of the Gárda Síochána that in the interests of the preservation of public peace and order it is expedient that the sale of intoxicating liquor in any town or village should immediately cease, the Justice of the District Court may order the immediate closing for the remainder of that day, or for such shorter period as he may deem adequate, of all premises licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquor in such town or village.

5 Penalties for opening during prohibited hours.

5.—All penalties for the time being in force under this or any other Act for selling, exposing for sale or purchasing any intoxicating liquor or opening or keeping open any premises for the sale of intoxicating liquor, or being present in or upon any such premises, during any hours or times at which the sale of intoxicating liquor is prohibited by any Act now in force, and all statutory provisions relating to such penalties, are hereby extended and made applicable to the times during which the sale of intoxicating liquor is prohibited by this Part of this Act or by any order made under this Part of this Act.

6 Exceptions from application of Act.

6.—Nothing in this Part of this Act shall be construed to apply to sales of intoxicating liquor to lodgers, or to the sale of intoxicating liquor in packet boats, or in canteens in pursuance of any Act regulating the same, or in a registered club as defined by the Registration of Clubs (Ireland) Act, 1904, or shall preclude the sale at any time at a railway station of intoxicating liquor on arrival or departure of trains to passengers who have travelled or hold tickets entitling them to travel on those trains for a distance of not less than ten miles to or from such railway station, or (save as otherwise expressly provided) the sale of intoxicating liquor to bona fide travellers within the meaning of the Licensing (Ireland) Acts, 1833 to 1905.

PART II. LICENSING.

7 Prohibition of sale of intoxicating liquors without licence.

7.—(1) From and after the passing of this Act no person shall sell, expose for sale, or keep for sale, by retail, any intoxicating liquor without being duly licensed so to sell the same, or at any place where he is not authorised by his licence to sell the same.

(2) Every person who shall sell, expose for sale, or keep for sale, by retail any intoxicating liquor without being duly licensed so to sell such intoxicating liquor, and every person who shall sell, expose for sale, or keep for sale, by retail any intoxicating liquor at any place where he is not authorised by his licence so to sell the same, shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds, or in default of payment of such penalty to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

(3) In addition to any other penalty imposed by this section, any person convicted of a second or any subsequent offence under this section or having been convicted before the passing of this Act of an offence under section 3 of the Spirits (Ireland) Act, 1854, or section 3 of the Licensing Act, 1872, is convicted of an offence under this section shall, if he be the holder of a licence of any description for the sale of intoxicating liquor by retail, forfeit such licence.

(4) In the case of a conviction for any offence under this section, the court may, if it thinks expedient so to do, declare all intoxicating liquor found in the possession of the person so convicted, and the vessels containing such liquor, to be forfeited.

(5) No penalty shall be incurred under this section by the heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns of any licensed person who dies before the expiration of his licence, or by the trustee of any licensed person who is adjudged a bankrupt or whose affairs are liquidated by arrangement before the expiration of his licence, in respect of the sale or exposure for sale or keeping for sale of any intoxicating liquor, provided such sale or exposure for sale or keeping for sale be made on the premises specified in such licence, and takes place prior to the sitting of the Justice of the District Court in the court area in which such premises are situate next after the expiration of fourteen days from the death of the said person or the appointment of a trustee in the case of his bankruptcy, or the liquidation of his affairs by arrangement, as the case may be.

8 Prohibition of sales on credit.

8.—(1) It shall not be lawful for any licence holder to supply any intoxicating liquor for consumption on his premises or for any person to consume any intoxicating liquor on the premises in which it is purchased unless either—

(a) the intoxicating liquor is paid for in ready money before or at the time at which it is supplied, or

(b) the intoxicating liquor is ordered and consumed at the same time as a meal is ordered and consumed, and is paid for at the same time as such meal is paid for.

(2) Every licence holder who shall supply, and every person who shall consume, any intoxicating liquor in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof in the case of a first offence to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, and in the case of any subsequent offence to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, and in any case, if the person convicted is a licence holder, the conviction shall be recorded on his licence.

9 Sale of intoxicating liquor in bottles.

9.—(1) The Minister for Justice may by order prescribe the sizes of the bottles in which any specified intoxicating liquor may be sold, and where any such order is in force it shall not be lawful to sell or supply the intoxicating liquor specified in the order in bottles of any size other than one of the sizes prescribed by the order.

(2) Every person who shall sell or supply any intoxicating liquor in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof in the case of a first offence to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, and in the case of any subsequent offence to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds.

10 Sales to young persons for consumption on the premises.

10.—Every licence holder who shall knowingly supply or who shall allow any person to supply any description of intoxicating liquor to a person under the age of eighteen years for consumption by that person on the premises of the licence holder shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first offence, to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, and in the case of any subsequent offence to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, and in any case the conviction shall be recorded on the licence of the person so convicted.

11 Sales to young persons for consumption off the premises.

11.—(1) Every holder of a licence of any description authorising the sale of intoxicating liquor by retail for consumption off the premises who knowingly sells or delivers or allows any person to sell or deliver (save as hereinafter mentioned) any description of intoxicating liquor to any person under the age of eighteen years for consumption off the premises of the licence holder shall be guilty of an offence under this section and be punishable accordingly.

(2) Every person who sends (except as hereinafter mentioned) any person under the age of eighteen years to any place where intoxicating liquors are sold, delivered, or distributed for the purpose of obtaining any description of intoxicating liquor, shall be guilty of an offence under this section and be punishable accordingly.

(3) Every person found guilty on summary conviction of an offence under this section shall be liable, in the case of a first offence, to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, and in the case of any subsequent offence, to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, and in any case if he is a licence holder the conviction shall be recorded on his licence.

(4) This section shall not apply to—

(a) the delivery of intoxicating liquor at the residence or working place of the purchaser, or

(b) the employment by a licensed person of a member of his family or his servant or apprentice as a messenger to deliver intoxicating liquor in sealed or corked vessels, or

(c) the sale or delivery to a person over the age of fifteen years of intoxicating liquor delivered in a corked and sealed vessel containing not less than one reputed pint, or

(d) the sending of a person over the age of fifteen years to obtain intoxicating liquor, if such liquor is delivered to such person in a corked and sealed vessel containing not less than one reputed pint.

(5) In this section the word “corked” means closed with a plug or stopper, whether it is made of cork or wood or glass or some other material; the word “sealed” means secured with any substance without the destruction of which the cork, plug, or stopper cannot be withdrawn.

12 Employment of young persons.

12.—Any licence holder who employs or permits—

(a) any female person being his sister, step-sister, daughter, step-daughter, or sister-in-law residing with him and being under the age of sixteen years, or

(b) any other female person being under the age of eighteen years, or

(c) any male person under the age of sixteen years other than an apprentice under indenture of apprenticeship made before the 1st day of November, 1924,

to sell any description of intoxicating liquor for consumption on the premises of the licence holder shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first offence, to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, and in the case of any subsequent offence, to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, and in any case the conviction shall be recorded on the licence of the licence holder so convicted.

13 Consumption of liquor on premises licensed only for consumption off the premises.

13.—(1) If any purchaser of any intoxicating liquor from the holder of a licence to which this section applies drinks such liquor on the premises where the same was sold to him or on any highway, lane or byeway adjoining or near such premises, such licence holder shall, if it shall appear that such drinking was with his privity or consent, be guilty of an offence under this section, and upon summary conviction thereof shall be liable, in the case of a first offence, to a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds, and in the case of any subsequent offence shall forfeit his licence.

(2) If any person in the employment of the holder of a licence to which this section applies permits or consents or is privy to any intoxicating liquor purchased from such licence holder being drunk on the premises where the same was sold or on any highway, lane or byeway adjoining or near such premises, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section, and on summary conviction thereof shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds, or in default of payment of such penalty to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.

(3) Every person who drinks any intoxicating liquor purchased from the holder of a licence to which this section applies on the premises where the same was sold, or on any highway, lane or byeway adjoining or near such premises, shall be guilty of an offence under this section, and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds, or in default of payment of such penalty to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month.

(4) If the holder of a licence to which this section applies himself takes or carries, or employs, or suffers any other person to take or carry any intoxicating liquor out of or from the premises of such licence holder for the purpose of being sold on his account or for his benefit or profit, and of being drunk or consumed in any other house, or in any tent, shed, or other building of any kind whatsoever belonging to such licence holder, or hired, used, or occupied by him or on or in any place, whether enclosed or not, and whether or not a public thoroughfare, such intoxicating liquor shall be deemed to have been drunk by the purchaser thereof on the premises of such licence holder with his privity and consent, and such licence holder shall be punishable under this section accordingly.

In any proceeding brought under or in reliance on this sub-section, it shall not be necessary to prove that the premises or place or places to which such liquor is taken to be drunk belonged to, or were hired, used, or occupied by the licence holder, if proof be given to the satisfaction of the court hearing the case that such liquor was taken to be consumed thereon or therein with intent to evade the conditions of the licence.

(5) In this section the expression “premises where the same was sold” shall include any premises adjoining or near the premises where the liquor was actually sold and belonging to the same licence holder or under his control or used by his permission.

(6) This section applies to licences of any description authorising the sale of intoxicating liquor by retail for consumption off the premises.

14 Duration, construction and citation of Licensing (Ireland) Act, 1902.

14.—(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Expiring Laws Act, 1924, the Licensing (Ireland) Act, 1902, as amended by this section shall continue in force until the Oireachtas otherwise determines.

(2) In the construction of the Licensing (Ireland) Act, 1902, the expression “increase of population” shall, from and after the passing of this Act be taken to mean an increase of the population according to the last census of not less than twenty-five per cent, over the population according to the census taken in the year 1901.

(3) In this Act and every other Act of the Oireachtas, whether passed before or after this Act, the expression “The Licensing (Ireland) Acts, 1833 to 1905” shall include the Licensing (Ireland) Act, 1902.

15 Preservation of licences of destroyed premises.

15.—(1) This section applies to every licence of any description for the sale of intoxicating liquor by retail (whether for consumption on or off the premises) on premises—

(a) which are situate outside the City of Dublin, and

(b) which were destroyed or damaged during the period beginning on the 1st day of April, 1922, and ending on the 12th day of May, 1923, and

(c) the destruction or damage of which occurred during the course of and as an incident in the conflict between the armed forces of the Provisional Government of Ireland or of the Government of Saorstát Eireann and persons offering armed resistance to those forces, and

(d) in which the business of selling intoxicating liquor has been suspended on account of such destruction or damage.