PART III

Prohibited Hours

25. —The Act of 1927 is hereby amended by the substitution for section 2 (as amended by section 4 of the Act of 1960 and section 2 of the Act of 1962) of the following section:

“2.—(1) Save as is otherwise provided by 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, or to permit any intoxicating liquor to be consumed on licensed premises—

(a) on any weekday, 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

(b) on 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 eleven o'clock in the evening, or

(c) on St. Patrick's Day, where that day falls on a weekday, before the hour of half-past twelve o'clock in the afternoon or after the hour of eleven o'clock in the evening, or

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

(2) Every person who shall sell or expose for sale any intoxicating liquor or open or keep open any premises for the sale of intoxicating liquor or permit any intoxicating liquor to be consumed on licensed premises 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 fine not exceeding £400, or, in the case of a second or any subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding £800.

(3) Every reference in this Act to the provisions of this Act relating to prohibited hours shall be construed and have effect as a reference to the provisions of this section, and all references in this Act to prohibited hours or to times or hours in which the sale of intoxicating liquor is prohibited by this Act shall be construed as references to the hours during which the sale of intoxicating liquor is prohibited by this section.”.

26. —(1) The Act of 1927 is hereby amended by the substitution for section 56 (inserted by section 6 of the Act of 1960 and amended by section 6 of the Act of 1962) of the following section:

“56.—(1) In order that a club may be eligible to be registered under the Registration of Clubs Acts, 1904 to 1986, the rules of the club shall (in addition to the matters mentioned in section 4 of the Registration of Clubs (Ireland) Act, 1904) provide that, subject to the exceptions specified in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, no excisable liquor shall be supplied for consumption on the club premises to any person (other than a member of the club lodging in the club premises) or be consumed on the club premises by any person (other than a member of the club lodging in the club premises)—

(a) on any weekday, 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

(b) on 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 eleven o'clock in the evening, or

(c) on St. Patrick's Day, where that day falls on a weekday, before the hour of half-past twelve o'clock in the afternoon or after the hour of eleven o'clock in the evening, or

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

(2) Nothing contained in the Registration of Clubs Acts, 1904 to 1986, or contained by virtue only of the operation of subsection (1) of this section, in the rules of a club registered under those Acts shall operate to prohibit the supplying for consumption on the club premises of excisable liquor to any person or the consumption of excisable liquor on the club premises by any person—

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

(c) on any Sunday, between the hours of two o'clock and three o'clock in the afternoon, or

(d) on Christmas Day, between the hours of one o'clock and three o'clock in the afternoon or the hours of seven o'clock and ten o'clock in the evening,

if, in each case, the excisable liquor is—

(i) ordered by that person at the same time as a substantial meal is ordered by him,

(ii) consumed at the same time as and with the meal,

(iii) supplied and consumed in the portion of the club premises usually set apart for the supply of meals, and

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

(3) In this section—

‘period of summer time’, ‘weekday’ and ‘Sunday’ have the meanings assigned to them by section 1 of this Act.”.

(2) (a) For the purposes of the Registration of Clubs Acts, 1904 to 1986, the rules of a club which at the date of the passing 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 date of the passing 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.

27. —Section 7 of the Act of 1962 is hereby amended by the substitution in paragraph (a) of subsections (1) and (2) for “ten minutes” of “thirty minutes”.

28. —The Act of 1927 is hereby amended by the substitution for section 13 (inserted by section 5 of the Act of 1960 and amended by section 4 of the Act of 1962) of the following section:

“13. Nothing in this Act shall operate to prohibit the holder of an on-licence in respect of premises which are for the time being a hotel or restaurant from supplying intoxicating liquor to any person on the premises or from permitting intoxicating liquor to be consumed on the premises—

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

(c) unless his licence is a six-day licence, on any Sunday, between the hours of two o'clock and three o'clock in the afternoon, or

(d) on Christmas Day, between the hours of one o'clock and three o'clock in the afternoon or the hours of seven o'clock and ten o'clock in the evening,

if, in each case, the intoxicating liquor is—

(i) ordered by that person at the same time as a substantial meal is ordered by him,

(ii) consumed at the same time as and with the meal,

(iii) supplied and consumed in the portion of the premises usually set apart for the supply of meals, and

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

29. —Section 5 (as amended by section 12 of the Act of 1962) of the Act of 1927 is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (3) of the following subsection:

“(3) No special exemption order shall be granted for any time on a Sunday or for any time between one o'clock and half-past ten o'clock in the morning on a Monday.”.