Temple Bar premises operating without a license for almost a year

A Dublin hotel, pub and restaurant has been serving drinks for almost a year without a license, the Circuit Civil Court heard today.

Barrister Niki Andrews said the garda had declared their intention of shutting down the bar areas in Citi Bar and Venue in Temple Bar, Dublin, tomorrow.

“The premises has been operating without a license but now wishes to revive the license as soon as possible,” she told Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery.

Ms Andrews said that owing to matters connected with the Revenue Commissioners the license granted by the District Court had not been issued to the premises and as a result it had continued operating with a llicense.

She said the hotel and bar premises, on the junction of Dame Street and Crow Street on the edge of Temple Bar, employs 50 people and the owners were anxious to avoid its closure.

Ms Andrews applied for leave to seek to abridge the length of the statutory 21-day newspaper and other legal notices necessary for the hearing of an application to revive the drinks license so the premises could continue in operation.

Judge Deery said he would put the application into the court list for June 30 on the basis that a public notice be attached to the front door of the premises advising members of the public of the hotelier’s intention to seek to revive the license.

Ms Andrews said the gardaí and the fire authorities had been contacted and the hotel would be seeking their consent to maintaining the status quo pending hearing of the application.

She said that although time to facilitate objections by members of the public would be greatly reduced, any potential objector would have an opportunity to object at the September annual licensing hearings in the District Court.

She said that irrespective of an early revival of the drinks license by the Circuit Court, the annual renewal of the license would have to be heard again within a few months.