First Previous (PART I Preliminary and General) Next (PART III Prohibited Hours)

16 1988

INTOXICATING LIQUOR ACT, 1988

PART II

Special Restaurant Licences

Commencement Part II .

5. —This Part shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may by order appoint.

Interpretation Part II .

6. —In this Part—

applicant” means an applicant for the grant of a special restaurant licence;

the Board” means Bord Fáilte Éireann;

Bord Fáilte Certificate” has the meaning assigned to it by section 8 (2) of this Act;

dining area” means the area set aside in a restaurant for the service and consumption of meals;

owner”, in relation to a restaurant, includes any person having any estate or interest in the restaurant;

restaurant” means any premises which are structurally adapted and used for the purpose of supplying substantial meals to the public for consumption on the premises and in which any other business carried on is ancillary and subsidiary to the provision of such meals;

special restaurant licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 7 (1) of this Act;

waiting area” means an area—

(a) that is set aside as a waiting area in a restaurant for the purposes only of accommodating persons waiting to enter the dining area of the restaurant for the purpose of consuming a meal, and

(b) whose floor area does not exceed 20 per cent. of the floor area of the dining area of the restaurant.

Special restaurant licence.

7. —(1) In this Act “special restaurant licence” means a licence granted by the Revenue Commissioners pursuant to a certificate of the Circuit Court given under section 8 of this Act to a person in respect of a restaurant of which he is the owner and occupier authorising, subject to the provisions of this Act—

(a) the supply of intoxicating liquor for consumption on those premises, and

(b) the consumption of intoxicating liquor on those premises,

if, in each case, the intoxicating liquor is—

(i) ordered by or on behalf of a person for whom a substantial meal has been ordered,

(ii) supplied in either the waiting area or the dining area of the restaurant,

(iii) consumed in the waiting area of the restaurant before the meal by the person for whom the meal has been ordered, or consumed by that person in the dining area of the restaurant either during the meal or at any time not later than thirty minutes after the meal has ended, and

(iv) paid for at the same time as the meal is paid for:

Provided always that suitable beverages other than intoxicating liquor (including drinking water) are also available for consumption.

(2) Where a special restaurant licence is in force in relation to any premises, the licence shall be deemed for the purposes of the Finance (1909-1910) Act, 1910, to be a retailer's on-licence notwithstanding the fact that it does not authorise the sale of intoxicating liquor for consumption off the premises as provided for in relation to retailers' on-licences generally by that Act.

Application for Circuit Court certificate, etc.

8. —(1) Where a person (in this section referred to as the applicant) duly gives notice of his intention to apply for a special restaurant licence in respect of a restaurant of which the applicant is the owner and occupier and, at the proceedings in the Circuit Court in relation to such application, the applicant shows to the satisfaction of that Court that there is in force a Bord Fáilte Certificate in respect of the restaurant, that Court shall cause a certificate to be given to the applicant entitling him to receive, on payment to the Revenue Commissioners of the fee specified in section 9 of this Act, a special restaurant licence in respect of the restaurant unless that Court, in consequence of an objection under section 4 of the Licensing (Ireland) Act, 1833, prohibits under that section the issue of the licence on the grounds of the character, misconduct or unfitness of the applicant or of the unfitness or inconvenience of the premises.

(2) Where in relation to a restaurant the Board, having inspected the restaurant, is satisfied that—

(a) in case regulations made by the Minister for Tourism and Transport under section 12 of this Act are in force, the restaurant complies with those regulations, or

(b) in case no such regulations are in force, the restaurant—

(i) is well equipped, well furnished and provides comfortable seating in the dining area and waiting area thereof,

(ii) is operated by a competent management and staff,

(iii) provides a high standard of catering,

(iv) has at least one member of the staff who holds a recognised qualification in cooking or has sufficient experience in cooking to prepare meals of a high standard, and

(v) maintains a high standard of hygiene,

the Board shall, upon application in that behalf by the person who is the owner and occupier of the restaurant, grant to the person a certificate (which shall be known as a Bord Fáilte Certificate) which shall be signed by an officer of the Board authorised in that behalf by the Board stating that the Board is satisfied as aforesaid.

(3) A document purporting to be a Bord Fáilte Certificate signed as aforesaid shall be sufficient evidence in any legal proceedings of the matters certified in the Certificate until the contrary is shown.

(4) A Bord Fáilte Certificate shall, unless it is sooner cancelled pursuant to this Act, continue in force until the date of the next annual licensing district court for the court area in which the restaurant the subject of that Certificate is situated.

(5) If, in any case, the Board refuses to grant a Bord Fáilte Certificate it shall as soon as may be, by notice in writing, inform the person who applied for the Certificate of the refusal and of the reasons therefor.

Grant of special restaurant licence.

9. —(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Acts, where a person (in this section referred to as the applicant) who is the owner and occupier of a restaurant applies to the Revenue Commissioners in that behalf, the Revenue Commissioners shall, provided that the applicant—

(a) produces to them a certificate of the Circuit Court given to that applicant under section 8 of this Act in respect of the restaurant, and

(b) pays to them a fee of £3,000, or such other amount as may stand specified for the time being in regulations made by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for Tourism and Transport,

grant to the applicant a special restaurant licence in respect of the restaurant.

(2) Upon the grant of a special restaurant licence under this section, any licence, and any existing restaurant certificate, held or granted under the Acts, in respect of the restaurant to which the special restaurant licence relates, shall cease to have effect, and no other such licence or restaurant certificate may be granted in respect of those premises while the special restaurant licence is in force.

Objection by Garda Síochána to renewal of special restaurant licence.

10. —Where application is made for the renewal of a special restaurant licence, the superintendent of the Garda Síochána for the Garda district in which the restaurant, the subject of the application, is situated or any inhabitant of the parish or health authority within the meaning of the Health Act in whose functional area the restaurant is situated may, without prejudice to any other ground of objection available to him under the Acts, object to the renewal of the licence on the following ground, namely, that the premises concerned have not been bona fide and solely used as a restaurant within the meaning of this Act since the grant of the licence or the latest renewal thereof, whichever last occurred, and, if the District Court upholds such objection, the special restaurant licence shall not be renewed by the Revenue Commissioners.

Power of Board to inspect restaurants.

11. —Without prejudice to its powers under the Tourist Traffic Acts, 1939 to 1987, the Board may, for the purposes of this Part, inspect restaurants.

Regulations in respect of restaurant standards.

12. —(1) The Minister for Tourism and Transport may, with the consent of the Minister, make regulations prescribing the standards to be complied with in restaurants for the purposes of the granting or the renewal by the Board of a Bord Fáilte Certificate.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations under this section may make provision for all or any of the following matters—

(a) the maximum accommodation in such restaurants,

(b) the maximum accommodation in waiting areas in such restaurants,

(c) the standards to be complied with in such restaurants in relation to—

(i) equipment and furnishing,

(ii) management and staff,

(iii) catering, and

(iv) hygiene,

(d) the inspection, and certification, of such restaurants by the Board and the fees to be payable in respect of such inspection or certification,

(e) any other matter which the Minister for Tourism and Transport considers to be necessary or desirable.

Cancellation of Bord Fáilte Certificate.

13. —(1) Where it appears to the Board that a restaurant in respect of which a Bord Fáilte Certificate is in force no longer complies with the standards specified in section 8 or, as the case may be, under section 12 , the Board shall give or send by post to the holder thereof a notice—

(a) stating that it appears to the Board as aforesaid,

(b) requiring the holder to take specified steps within a specified period in order to bring the restaurant into compliance with the standards aforesaid, and

(c) informing the holder that, if the requirements in the notice are not complied with, the Board will cancel the Certificate.

(2) If the holder of a Bord Fáilte Certificate fails or refuses to comply with a requirement in a notice under subsection (1), the Board shall cancel the Certificate.

(3) Whenever the Board cancels a Bord Fáilte Certificate, the Board shall give written notice that the Certificate has been cancelled and is no longer in force to—

(a) the holder of the special restaurant licence in relation to which such Certificate was granted,

(b) the district court clerk for the district court area in which the premises to which the Certificate relates are situated,

(c) the Revenue Commissioners, and

(d) the superintendent of the Garda Síochána for the Garda district in which the premises to which the Certificate relates are situated.

Prohibited hours in premises having special restaurant licence.

14. —(1) It shall not be lawful for any person, in any premises to which a special restaurant licence applies, to—

(a) sell or expose for sale, or

(b) open or keep open the premises for the sale of, or

(c) permit the consumption on the premises of,

any intoxicating liquor—

(i) on any weekday, between the hours of half-past twelve o'clock in the morning and half-past twelve o'clock in the afternoon, or

(ii) on any Sunday, between the hours of half-past twelve o'clock in the morning and half-past twelve o'clock in the afternoon, or between the hours of three o'clock and six o'clock in the afternoon, or between the hours of eleven o'clock in the evening and half-past twelve o'clock in the afternoon of the next following day, or

(iii) on Christmas Day, between the hours of half-past twelve o'clock in the morning and one o'clock in the afternoon or between the hours of three o'clock in the afternoon and seven o'clock in the evening or between the hours of ten o'clock in the evening and half-past twelve o'clock in the afternoon of the next following day, or

(iv) at any time on Good Friday or between the hours of twelve o'clock midnight and half-past twelve o'clock in the morning of the next following Saturday.

(2) The provisions of the Act of 1927 relating to prohibited hours shall apply to any premises to which a special restaurant licence applies as if subsection (1) of this section were substituted for subsection (1) of section 2 (inserted by this Act) of that Act, and as if the reference to a restaurant in section 3 of that Act included a restaurant in respect of which a special restaurant licence has been granted, and the Act of 1927 shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

Offence.

15. —Any person who contravenes the terms of a special restaurant licence shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500, and the offence shall be deemed, for the purposes of Part III (which relates to the endorsement of licences) of the Act of 1927, to be an offence to which that Part of that Act applies.

Restaurant not to contain bar.

16. —(1) A restaurant in respect of which a special restaurant licence has been granted under this Act shall not contain a bar.

(2) Where intoxicating liquor is sold or made available for purchase in a restaurant which does not comply with the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the holder of the special restaurant licence in respect of that restaurant shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding—

(a) £150, in the case of a first such offence, or

(b) £350, in the case of a second or any subsequent such offence,

and the offence shall be deemed, for the purposes of Part III (which relates to the endorsement of licences) of the Act of 1927, to be an offence to which that Part of that Act applies.

Display of special restaurant licence and Bord Fáilte Certificate.

17. —(1) A holder of a special restaurant licence shall cause the licence to be displayed prominently in the premises to which such licence relates.

(2) A holder of a special restaurant licence shall cause the Bord Fáilte Certificate relating to the premises to be displayed prominently in the premises to which such licence relates.

(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

(4) A person who contravenes subsection (2) of this section or who displays in his premises a Bord Fáilte Certificate which has been cancelled pursuant to section 13 of this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

(5) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in any case where the holder is required, pursuant to the Acts, to produce the licence.

(6) Subsection (2) of this section shall not apply in any case where the holder is required, pursuant to the Acts, to produce the Bord Fáilte Certificate.

Amendment of section 4 of Courts (No. 2) Act, 1986.

18. Section 4 of the Courts (No. 2) Act, 1986 , is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion after subsection (9) of the following subsection:

“(9A) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, a special restaurant licence shall not be renewable on expiry without the production to the Revenue Commissioners of a Bord Fáilte Certificate (within the meaning of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988).”, and

(b) the insertion in subsection (11) after paragraph (c) of the following paragraph:

“(d) that the licence is a special restaurant licence granted pursuant to the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988”.

Non-application of sections 15 and 17 of Act of 1960.

19. —Sections 15 and 17 of the Act of 1960 shall not apply in relation to any application to the Circuit Court for a certificate entitling the applicant to receive a special restaurant licence under this Act.

Application of Fire Services Act, 1981.

20. Section 24 of the Fire Services Act, 1981 , shall apply in relation to every application for the grant or renewal of a special restaurant licence.

Holder of special restaurant licence not to be holder of on-licence for purposes of section 11 of Act of 1962.

21. —The holder of a special restaurant licence shall not, for the purposes of obtaining an occasional licence pursuant to section 11 of the Act of 1962, be regarded as the holder of an on-licence.

Special exemption order not to be granted to holder of special restaurant licence.

22. —A special exemption order under section 5 (as amended by section 6 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1943 , section 11 of the Act of 1960 and section 12 of the Act of 1962) of the Act of 1927 shall not be granted to the holder of a special restaurant licence in respect of premises to which such licence relates.

Amendment of section 20 of Act of 1962.

23. —Section 20 of the Act of 1962 is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion in subsection (1) after “ section 18 of this Act” of “or a special restaurant licence granted by virtue of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988”, and

(b) the insertion in subsection (3) after “ section 18 of this Act” of “or a special restaurant licence granted by virtue of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988”.

Laying of draft regulations before Houses of Oireachtas.

24. —A draft of every regulation proposed to be made under this Part shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulation shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.