The government has approved plans to extend legislation for pub and restaurant outdoor seating areas.
Approval for the extended operation of outdoor dining and consumption of alcohol will be sought by the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.
Government ministers will agree to a six-month extension of the legislation that will permit the sale and consumption of alcohol in outdoor areas.
The law was set to lapse on May 31, but the new extension will be sought until the end of November.
The initial move saw on-street service provided by premises which were not covered by alcohol licenses during the covid-19 pandemic.
The thinking behind the extension is mainly to support those businesses as the wider industry continues to recover from the pandemic.
The legislation applies where outdoor seating areas have been permitted by the relevant local authority on footpaths outside a premises for example.
It also only applies to the land that businesses began to use during Covid restrictions as an emergency measure over the last year.
This law does not cover the likes of beer gardens that have been in use prior to the pandemic, and which are subject to the original licence agreement for a pub or restaurant.
