NI alcohol licensing laws to be debated at Stormont

As reported on the BBC, under the plans, pubs and nightclubs will be able to serve alcohol for an extra hour, until 2am, almost every Friday and Saturday.

Drinking-up time will be extended to an hour, meaning venues can operate until 3am at weekends.

The legislation also proposes removing all restrictions around Easter drinking.

Currently restrictions on selling alcohol are in place from the Thursday before Easter until Easter Sunday.

Alcohol can only be served between 5pm and 11pm on Good Friday and bars have to stop serving at midnight on Thursday and Easter Saturday.

The Department for Communities carried out a consultation last year, and said “changing social habits and the growing importance of the tourism industry” had prompted the calls for changes to Easter licensing laws.

The other main change is the extension in “drinking-up time” from half an hour to an hour.