TÁNAISTE LEO VARADKAR last week said the government is considering banning the sale of alcohol after a certain time of day.

His comments came after publicans were warned by the Taoiseach Michéal Martin to “forget about takeaway pints” as the government introduced a raft of new public health restrictions last Wednesday.

Varadkar said the banning of takeaway pints was not straightforward because it could result in a ban on takeaway alcohol for restaurants and off-licences.

“People say takeaway points are a problem; ban them. You can’t actually just do that. You’d have to ban all takeaway alcohol and that would create problems for restaurants and takeaways who really need that business now and also off-licences too,” the Tánaiste said.

“So what we could potentially do is ban the sale of all alcohol after a certain point of time in the day. It is that type of thing that we’re looking at.”

So, today we want to know: Should the sale of alcohol be banned after a certain time of day? 

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More