A tale as old as time: Is Northern Ireland ready to embrace change or is the current liquor licensing system fit for purpose? Seamus McGranaghan, Director O’Reilly Stewart Solicitors
The recent independent review of Northern Ireland’s liquor licensing system has recommended major reform, including the establishment of a new Northern Ireland Licensing Authority and changes to the “surrender principle.”
But is reformation of Northern Ireland’s Licensing Laws really on the horizon? Seamus McGranaghan from O’Reilly Stewart Solicitors outlines what it could mean for the local hospitality industry here if changes were to go ahead.
Given the ever-changing landscape of licensing in Northern Ireland, the review presents contemporary proposals to encourage economic growth, improve public health and champion cultural expression and diversity. It advocates for flexibility which has never been seen before in NI liquor licensing and if implemented, the reforms could bring about sweeping changes, leading to increased innovation and diversity.
Commissioned by the Department for Communities, at the crux of the review is the “surrender principle” which only allows for a new licence to be granted with the sacrifice of a valid and subsisting licence. This effectively ensures that no new public house or off-licences are created in Northern Ireland and it is now being argued that this is leading to monopolies with small to medium sized grocers acquiring public houses licences and converting these into off-licences.
The review goes on to suggest that the “surrender principle” is stifling innovation and diversity, deeming the principle itself to be wholly outdated . However, by removing the “surrender principle” the lucrative market of liquor licences could quickly disappear as the value of the licence lies in the exclusivity associated with the licence itself.
The statistics within the review also highlight the change in the licensing sphere with 680 public houses being lost since 1981, and 415 new off-licences being opened. It is noteworthy that during the same period, the adult population increased by approximately 200,000. As such, the number of public houses has fallen from 14 public houses per 10,000 adults to 7.7 public houses per 10,000 adults.
Reform is clearly required to re-introduce public houses into society. To tackle this, the review considers a time-limited buy-back scheme for Article 5(1)(a) licences whereby licences could be sold to a newly created Northern Ireland Licensing Authority and would be available for reissue using an application system.