Intoxicating Liquor Act , 1962

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1833” means the Licensing (Ireland) Act, 1833;

“the Act of 1902” means the Licensing (Ireland) Act, 1902;

“the Act of 1910” means the Finance (1909-10) Act, 1910;

“the Act of 1924” means the Intoxicating Liquor (General) Act, 1924;

“the Act of 1927” means the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1927;

“the Act of 1943” means the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1943;

“the Act of 1960” means the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1960;

“annual licensing district court” means the sitting of the District Court held pursuant to rules of court in a licensing area for the hearing of applications for certificates for renewals of licences for the sale of intoxicating liquor;

“Court area” means a District Court area prescribed by law for the purposes of the transaction of licensing business;

“licence” means a licence for the sale of intoxicating liquor for the grant of which the production of a certificate of the District Court or the Circuit Court, as the case may be, is required, or a licence granted under section 18 of this Act, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“the Licensing Acts” means the Licensing Acts, 1833 to 1960;

“period of summer time” means a period appointed by or under the Summer Time Act, 1925, to be a period of summer time;

“prohibited hours” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Act of 1927;

“the Registration of Clubs Acts” means the Registration of Clubs Acts 1904 to 1960;

“seven-day licence” means a licence referred to in section 11 of the Act of 1927 as a seven-day licence;

“six-day licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 8 of the Act of 1927;

“Sunday” does not include a Sunday that is Christmas Day.

(2) References in this Act to any enactment shall, save where the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to that enactment as amended by any subsequent enactment including this Act.

2 Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1927.

2.—Section 2 (which was inserted by the Act of 1960 and relates to prohibited hours) of the Act of 1927 is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a) of subsection (1):

“(a) on any week-day, before the hour of half-past ten o'clock in the morning or—

(i) during a period of summer time, after the hour of half-past eleven o'clock in the evening, or

(ii) during a period which is not a period of summer-time, after the hour of eleven o'clock in the evening, or, if the premises are situate in the county borough of Dublin or Cork (subject to the exceptions hereinafter mentioned) between the hours of half-past two o'clock and half-past three o'clock in the afternoon, or”,

(b) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b) of subsection (1):

“(b) on Saint Patrick's Day or any Sunday, before the hour of half-past twelve o'clock in the afternoon, or between the hours of two o'clock and four o'clock in the afternoon or after the hour of ten o'clock in the evening, or”

and

(c) the substitution in both paragraph (a) and paragraph (b) of subsection (2) for “a county borough” of “the county borough of Dublin or Cork”.

3 Amendment of section 3 of Act of 1927.

3.—Subsection (1) (inserted by the Act of 1960) of section 3 (which relates to mixed trading) of the Act of 1927 is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in paragraph (i) of “half-past seven o'clock” for “nine o'clock”, and

(b) the substitution in paragraph (ii) for “a county borough” of “the county borough of Dublin or Cork”.

4 Amendment of section 13 of Act of 1927.

4.—Section 13 (which was inserted by the Act of 1960 and provides for exemptions from prohibited hours for hotels and restaurants) of the Act of 1927 is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraphs (a) and (b) of the following paragraphs:

“(a) during a period of summer time, between the hours of half-past eleven o'clock in the evening on any week-day and half-past twelve o'clock in the morning on the following day, or

(b) during a period which is not a period of summer time, between the hours of eleven o'clock in the evening on any week-day and half-past twelve o'clock in the morning on the following day, or

(b1) if the premises are situate in the county borough of Dublin or Cork, between the hours of half-past two o'clock and half-past three o'clock in the afternoon, on any week-day, or

(b2) on Saint Patrick's Day or, unless his licence is a six-day licence, any Sunday, between the hours of two o'clock and three o'clock in the afternoon, or between the hours of ten o'clock and eleven o'clock in the evening, or”.

5 Amendment of section 14 of Act of 1927.

5.—Section 14 (which provides for certain exemptions from prohibited hours) of the Act of 1927 is hereby amended by the insertion after paragraph (a) of the following paragraph:

“(aa) the sale at any time at a railway station (being a station to which persons who have recently travelled or are about to travel by ship resort for refreshment) of intoxicating liquor to passengers who have recently travelled or hold tickets entitling them, and are about, to travel by ship for a distance of not less than fifty miles, or”.

6 Amendment of section 56 of Act of 1927.

6.—(1) Section 56 (which was inserted by the Act of 1960 and relates to prohibited hours in clubs) of the Act of 1927 is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1):

“(a) on any week-day, before the hour of half-past ten o'clock in the morning, or—

(i) during a period of summer time, after the hour of half-past eleven o'clock in the evening, or

(ii) during a period which is not a period of summer time, after the hour of eleven o'clock in the evening,

or, if the club is situate in the county borough of Dublin or Cork, between the hours of half-past two o'clock and half-past three o'clock in the afternoon, or

(b) on Saint Patrick's Day or any Sunday, before the hour of half-past twelve o'clock in the afternoon or between the hours of two o'clock and four o'clock in the afternoon or after the hour of ten o'clock in the evening, or”,

(b) the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2):

“(a) during a period of summer time, between the hours of half-past eleven o'clock in the evening on any week-day and half-past twelve o'clock in the morning on the following day, or

(b) during a period which is not a period of summer time, between the hours of eleven o'clock in the evening on any week-day and half-past twelve o'clock in the morning on the following day, or

(b1) if the premises are situate in the county borough of Dublin or Cork, between the hours of half-past two o'clock and half-past three o'clock in the afternoon, on any week-day, or

(b2) on Saint Patrick's Day or any Sunday, between the hours of two o'clock and three o'clock in the afternoon or between the hours of ten o'clock and eleven o'clock in the evening, or”, and

(c) the insertion in subsection (4) after “this section” of “‘period of summer time’”.

(2) (a) For the purposes of the Registration of Clubs Acts, the rules of a club which on the commencement of this Act is registered under those Acts shall, during the transitional period, be deemed to be in conformity with the provisions of section 56, as amended by this section, of the Act of 1927.

(b) In this subsection “transitional period” means the period beginning on the commencement of this Act and ending, either, when the certificate of registration of the club which is in force two months after that date expires, or, if it should sooner happen, when the rules of the club are brought into conformity with the said section 56, as so amended.

7 Time for consumption of intoxicating liquor supplied during permitted hours.

7.—(1) (a) Nothing in the Licensing Acts shall operate to prohibit a person from being on, or consuming, or permitting the consumption of, intoxicating liquor on, premises in respect of which an on-licence within the meaning of the Act of 1927 is in force during the period of ten minutes commencing at the beginning of a period during which the sale of intoxicating liquor on licensed premises is prohibited.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection a period during which the sale of intoxicating liquor in licensed premises is permitted by or under any provision of the Licensing Acts (other than section 2 of the Act of 1927) shall be deemed to be a period during which such sale is prohibited on such premises.

(2) (a) Nothing in the Registration of Clubs Acts, or contained, by virtue only of subsection (1) of section 56 of the Act of 1927, in the rules of a club registered under those Acts shall operate to prohibit the consumption of excisable liquor on the club premises by any person during the period of ten minutes commencing at the beginning of a period during which the supplying of excisable liquor on such premises is prohibited.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection a period during which the supplying of excisable liquor on club premises is permitted by or under any provision of the Registration of Clubs Acts (other than subsection (1) of section 56 of the Act of 1927) shall be deemed to be a period during which such supplying on such premises is prohibited.

8 Amendment of section 21 of Act of 1924.

8.—Not more than fifteen authorisations shall be granted under section 21 (which relates to the grant of authorisations by the District Court for the supply of excisable liquor in clubs) of the Act of 1924 to any club in any year and subsection (3) of that section shall stand amended accordingly.

9 Substantial meals.

9.—(1) For the purposes of the Licensing Acts and the Registration of Clubs Acts a meal served in any premises after the commencement of this Act shall not be deemed to be a substantial meal unless—

(a) the meal is such as might be expected to be served as a main midday or main evening meal or as a main course at either such meal, and

(b) the meal is of a kind for which—

(i) having regard to the prices charged for meals in the premises at times other than prohibited hours, or

(ii) if meals are not normally served in the premises, having regard to all the circumstances,

it would be reasonable to charge a sum that is not less than—

(I) the sum (if any) that for the time being stands fixed under subsection (2) of this section, or

(II) if no sum stands fixed for the time being under the said subsection (2), five shillings.

(2) The Minister for Justice may from time to time, by order, fix such sum, being more than five shillings, as he considers reasonable for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section and may, by order, revoke or amend any order under this subsection.

10 Exemptions for special events.

10.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, where, on application to a Justice of the District Court by the holder of a licence in respect of premises situate in any locality not in the county borough of Dublin, it is shown to the satisfaction of the Court that the application has the approval of a majority of the holders of licences in respect of premises so situate and is in respect of a period during which a special event or special events will take place in or near that locality of such kind that, in the opinion of the Court, the period will be one during which a considerable number of persons will be likely to be attracted to that locality, the Court, if it is satisfied that it is desirable to do so for the accommodation of those persons, may, after hearing the officer in charge of the Garda Síochána for that locality, make an order, subject to such conditions as it thinks proper, exempting the holders of licences in respect of premises; so situate from the provisions of the Licensing Acts relating to prohibited hours in respect of those premises at such times and on such days during the period as it thinks fit: provided that, where the period aforesaid exceeds nine days, the exemption shall be limited to such times and days as it thinks fit during a period or periods (not exceeding three) comprising in all not more than nine days.

(2) Any person appearing to the District Court to have a bona fide interest in the matter may appear and give evidence on the hearing of an application under this section.

(3) The District Court shall not entertain an application under this section unless and until satisfied that the applicant has, not less than seven days before the date on which the application is proposed to be made, served notice in writing of the intention to make the application upon the officer in charge of the Garda Síochána for the locality to which the application relates and published the notice in a newspaper circulating in that locality.

(4) Not more than three orders under this section having effect in any particular year shall be made in respect of any particular locality and, where more orders than one having effect in a particular year in respect of a particular locality are made, the number of days to which the orders relate shall not exceed nine in all and such days shall be either consecutive days or divided into not more than three separate periods of a day or consecutive days.

(5) A person in respect of whom an order has been granted under this section shall, if and so long as he complies with the conditions subject to which the order has been granted, be exempt at the times specified in the order from any penalty for contravention of the provisions of the Licensing Acts relating to prohibited hours in respect of the premises to which the order relates but not from any other penalty under those Acts.

(6) An order under this section shall not exempt the holder of a licence that is a six-day licence from the provisions of the Licensing Acts relating to prohibited hours on Sundays.

(7) Where, on application to a Justice of the District Court, it is shown to the satisfaction of the Court that the application has the approval of a majority of the holders of on-licences in respect of premises situate in a locality in respect of which an order under this section has been made, the Court may, at any time before the commencement of the period to which the order relates, revoke the order and, upon such revocation, the order shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, never to have been made.

(8) For the purposes of this and the two next following sections a locality that is situate in a county or other borough, a town (whether or not having commissioners under the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854) or village, shall include the whole of that borough, town or village, as the case may be, and any surrounding built-up area.

11 Occasional licences.

11.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, on application to a Justice of the District Court by the holder of an on-licence, the Court may, if it so thinks fit, and is satisfied that a special event is being held at any place to which no licence for the sale of intoxicating liquor is attached grant to the applicant a licence (in this section referred to as an occasional licence) authorising him to sell at that place during such times and on such days (not exceeding three), as may be specified in the licence such intoxicating liquor as he is authorised to sell by the on-licence aforesaid.

(2) (a) An occasional licence shall not be granted for a dinner unless it is organised as a special function for the entertainment of the members of a particular association, organisation or other like group.

(b) An occasional licence shall not be granted for a dance unless—

(i) it is held elsewhere than in the open air or in a tent, marquee or other such structure, and

(ii) either—

(I) it is organised as a special function for the entertainment of the members of a particular association, organisation or other like group and a substantial meal (the price (if any) of which is included in the price of admission (if any) to the dance) is served to the persons attending the dance, or

(II) it is held wholly or partly on a day that, in the opinion of the Court, is a day of special festivity generally or in the locality in which the place to which the licence relates is situate.

(3) Occasional licences shall not be granted pursuant to clause (II) of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section for any premises in respect of more than six different days in a year.

(4) It shall be a condition of an occasional licence granted for a dinner or dance that the sale of intoxicating liquor pursuant to the licence be confined to persons attending the dinner or dance to which the licence relates.

(5) An occasional licence shall not be granted in respect of any Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday.

(6) Any person appearing to the District Court to have a bona fide interest in the matter may appear and give evidence on the hearing of an application under this section.

(7) The District Court shall not entertain an application under this section unless it is satisfied that the applicant has, not less than forty-eight hours before making the application, served upon the officer in charge of the Garda Síochána for the locality to which the application relates a notice in writing of his intention to make the application, setting out his name and address and the place, occasion and time for which the occasional licence to which the application relates is required.

(8) An occasional licence shall operate to exempt the person to whom it is granted (if and so long as he complies with the conditions subject to which it is granted and the special event for which the licence is granted is held in compliance with the relevant provisions of subsections (2) and (10) of this section) from the provisions of the Licensing Acts relating to the sale and supply of intoxicating liquor at the place and during the time for which the licence is granted.

(9) The provisions of the Licensing Acts requiring an offence to be endorsed on a licence shall not apply to an offence committed in respect of an occasional licence.

(10) An occasional licence shall not be granted for any time after the hour of ten o'clock in the evening or before the hour of eight o'clock in the morning unless the event to which the licence would relate is a dinner or dance.

(11) (a) Section 13 of the Revenue Act, 1862, section 20 of the Revenue Act, 1863, section 5 of the Revenue (No. 1) Act, 1864, and section 6 of the Act of 1927 are hereby repealed in so far as they relate to licences authorising the sale of intoxicating liquor.