Panic at the disco: can Ireland’s night-time economy be saved?

New laws to cut crippling licensing costs could ease pressure on venues, but it may not save nightclubs from falling out of fashion

The Camden bar, formerly the Palace nightclub: the last club to be sold in Dublin before the pandemic took hold

Just when prolonged pandemic closures were threatening the future of the last remaining 14 nightclubs between O’Connell Street and Portobello in Dublin city centre, the government’s night-time economy task force has brought renewed hope for them and the 26 late-night bars in the area.

The threat to nightclubs has mounted from the onerous costs and administration which late-night hostelries incur in order to stay open until 2.30am.

Minister of state Hildegarde Naughton responded to the ...