Hazel Chu

I think it's a good idea, and it's not new research.

I know LBA had commissioned a report on it, but the Give Us the Night group have been working on it for a number of years, and last year had a very comprehensive report on the fall of nightclub and dance floors.

So, of

January 2025, there was only 83, whereas in 2000, there was 522 dance spaces in the capital.

And you've got to beg the question of where is it going?

So you said there, Matt, is it because demand is not there?

Demand is absolutely there.

But unfortunately, due to rates, due to how business models work, this is where and also special exemption orders that Donald had mentioned and the cost of them.

It's meant that these dance spaces across the country has had to fold.

And what you are left then is no night time economy.

So despite proposals five years ago from a night time economy task force, which I was on myself, that we needed a night time economy, that we needed to make sure each of our cities have night time advisors in place, which we put in and transport in place, which we funded at the time.

this government hasn't done anything more to it and we need them to change the licensing laws, we need them to increase transport and we need them to make the cities safer at night time by increasing footfall and having a night time economy.

So I completely welcome the idea of the research because at the end of the day these results have been

provided time and time again over the years by different groups, like Give Us the Night, like the Nighttime Economy Task Force, like the Nightmare in Dublin City himself as well.

We did, we did.

I was on that committee, Matt, and we had many arguments with representatives of justice there who had said, yeah, yeah, we will be progressing this bill.

We will be progressing this.

And then when it came to it, we ourselves as a party pushed for it.

And the others didn't.

And this came the problem that this government now will not be pushing forward and has not been pushing forward on that.