The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) has called on the Government to cut the fees for late trading in Budget 2026 to encourage more activity in the night time economy across the capital.
Every time a pub wishes to remain open beyond their regular trading hours they must apply for a ‘Special Exemption Order’ or ‘SEO’. This allows them to remain open for up to an additional two hours.
For every single night they seek an SEO, pubs must pay an additional €205, plus solicitor fees. This sum consists of €150 in court fees and €55 in excise. So an average late bar or nightclub who seeks to operate later 3 nights per week has to pay out €32,000, plus legal fees, each year.
Ahead of Budget 2026, the LVA has written seeking a reduction in these costs to the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD; Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers TD and Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan TD.
Specifically, the LVA is seeking the cost of each SEO to be limited to €100 per night.
In their correspondence, Donall O’Keeffe, CEO of the LVA said, “The LVA and the late bar/nightclub sector welcomed the reduction in the costs of SEOs announced in Budget 23. It was an important initiative in improving the commercial viability of the late bars and nightclubs.
“Ministerial comments at the time confirmed it was being put in place to assist the sector until fundamental reforms of the late night trading were delivered in the Sale of Alcohol Bill.
This Bill was much promised and we are extremely disappointed that it has still not been delivered.
“Given the delays to licensing reform and noting the obvious pressures on late bars and the late night economy in Dublin, we are calling on you to cut the costs of SEOs significantly in Budget 26,” he said.
“We are calling on you to cut the cost of an SEO to €100 per night to aid our commercial viability and to make the late trade accessible to smaller bars and on more marginal nights. Furthermore this cut can be delivered immediately post-Budget and could easily be in place for the final quarter of this year.
“Improving the vibrancy of the late night economy, particularly in Dublin, should be a priority for Budget 26 and this measure, with relatively low cost and immediate benefit, is important in that regard,” the LVA correspondence concluded.