Local reaction to 10pm off-licence closing time

New laws which force off-licences to close at 10pm have met with a mixed reaction in Meath, following last Bank Holiday weekend where many disappointed consumers discovered they could not buy alcohol to bring home after 10 o"clock. Under the new laws which came into effect last week, off-licences must close at 10pm and Gardaí can seize drink from minors. One of the biggest problems with the new law legislation was that people were not aware of the new rules until they tried to buy 'carry-outs" to bring home with them, according to local publicans, who also can not sell take-home alcohol after 10pm to their customers. Cllr Padraig Fitzsimons, who runs a pub and off-licence in Navan, said that a lot of people had not been aware of the changes. 'Even though there were notices on the doors about the new legislation, people came into the pub after 10pm looking to buy drink to take out and we couldn"t give it to them,' he said, He agreed with some of the legislation and said there was too much free and easy access to drink for young people and he agreed there should not be drinking in public places. He said a major problem was that the vast amount of people involved in antisocial behaviour as a result of drink, would already have a large amount of drink taken before 10pm. He believed that there should be stiffer fines for adults who go into pubs and off-licences to buy drink for minors. Cllr Fitzsimons said he would be delighted if the new rules worked well, but if they didn"t, he hoped the Government would go back to the drawing board and try something else. Margaret Corcoran of Corcoran"s Off-Licence in Trim, said she was happy to abide by the new laws although there had been some disappointed customers last week. 'There were people turning up after 10pm looking for drink but not being able to get it,' she said. However, most of those who were disappointed were older people. 'People will get used to it after a month or two. They will just make sure they buy it earlier,' she said. 'It will be like the smoking ban. They won"t give it another thought, once they are used to it.' The new law is aimed at reducing the increased visibility and availability of alcohol in retail outlets, while tightening the conditions under which pubs, clubs and other licensed premises can open beyond normal licensing hours. Supermarkets will now be required to sell drink from an area separate from other produce and holders of theatre licences will also be restricted to the normal licensing hours, unless additional hours are sanctioned by special exemption. The new laws also give Gardai tougher public order powers, including allowing officers to seize alcohol from minors and issue fixed penalties for public order offences.