Irish Drinking Laws are pure b**locks

NADA

Was just thinking about this. Recently moved to Germany to live. Head to clubs here regularly and what I find great about them is that they are willing to stay open and serve beer until the last customer leaves. So why in Ireland do we have to close our doors at 2'O Clock or something? Yeah people say it's to avoid trouble and all that rubbish but how come Germans go into clubs drink about 4-5 litres of beer and walk home without any of the social disturbance you see in Ireland. Heres my theory. Basically the lack of trouble here is to do with the lack of skangers! So basically I propose that all the Irish scangers are just shot and then the rest of us can have bigger longer safer piss ups! Also it's perfectly acceptable here to walk around drinking beer in the streets! In Ireland that would just lead to trouble and I belive it is illegal!!!! I'm never coming home!!!

MagicMarker

NADA wrote: »

I'm never coming home!!!

Good, we don't want ya

Wurly

The licensing laws are totally retarded.

It doesn't matter what time you close at. All the pubs belching out their full capacity of people onto the streets at the same time as the other pubs - THAT is the problem. Bound to be trouble. Why can't they see this? Idiots.

truecrippler

Agreed, they are a load of me testicles.

taidghbaby

truecrippler wrote: »

Agreed, they are a load of me testicles.

if by your testicles you mean bags of sh1t then i would have to agree

towel401

they should just de-regulate the sale of alcohol completely. no tax, no closing times, age limits, nothing

sure for the first year there will be chaos with all the skangers suddenly consuming way more alcohol than they used to but then they will either die off or get sick of it fairly fast.

Jimbo

I dunno. Would we ever leave the pub if there was no closing times?
We need to be told when to stop drinking.

Wurly

jimbo78 wrote: »

I dunno. Would we ever leave the pub if there was no closing times?
We need to be told when to stop drinking.

Do we? Do we have no self control? Also, most people's wallets woud not be able to accommodate constant drinking.

If you could go to the pub whenever you wanted, the urgency is taken out of it and you just go whenever. But the laws now have people all getting into a pub before a certain time and drinking as much as they can while in there.

Voodu Child

NADA wrote: »

So basically I propose that all the Irish scangers are just shot..

You've only been in Germany a short while, and already you're planning genocide. Must be something in the water over there..

Holsten

I agree, kill em' all!

Fun times if I ever get in power! :pac:

Four-Too

You're pathetic! Is drinking 4-5 litres of beer what you call living?! Is drinking for 7 or 8 hours steady living?

portomar

jimbo78 wrote: »

I dunno. Would we ever leave the pub if there was no closing times?
We need to be told when to stop drinking.

boll**ks. speak for yourself, i need no man to tell me when to stop. i agree with op, i hate when i see people in court blaming alcohol. and worse, the judge taking it into account as mitigating factor!! :eek: how bogey is that like?? just take responsibility for your actions. bring back brehon law! screw this viking/brit hybrid law we have to live with! sure even britain have made 24 hour drinking legal. its my biggest bugbear about this country

portomar

Four-Too wrote: »

You're pathetic! Is drinking 4-5 litres of beer what you call living?! Is drinking for 7 or 8 hours steady living?

personally, yes its an important part of my life anyway. why is that pathetic? this is the problem, the attitude of the poster above is the same as the politicians setting our licencing laws, in short, poking your nose into other peoples business because you think you know better.

Overheal

Tri wrote: »

The licensing laws are totally retarded.

It doesn't matter what time you close at. All the pubs belching out their full capacity of people onto the streets at the same time as the other pubs - THAT is the problem. Bound to be trouble. Why can't they see this? Idiots.

excellent point.

minidazzler

The Germans may Drink 4-5 litres but that is over a huge amount of time, which is brilliant. Here it's cram in all the Drink you can before you are kicked out!!!

humanji

Four-Too wrote: »

You're pathetic! Is drinking 4-5 litres of beer what you call living?! Is drinking for 7 or 8 hours steady living?

Well at least they're getting out of the house instead of staying in and insulting random people on an anonymous internet site...

And for those complaining about Jimbo78's post, I'm fairly sure it's sarcasm. Geezm why's everyone so uptight tonight?

Jimbo

Chill out people. It's only alcohol.

truecrippler

taidghbaby wrote: »

if by your testicles you mean bags of sh1t then i would have to agree

YORE MA!!!

Biggins

Well considering that Germany is one of the top countries for Alcoholism (4,575,778 by one count), the country is not exactly a walking advertisement either for staying open 24 hours a day either.

I speak the following as a 20 year barman. At least with closing time, the alcoholics (that don't know when to stop) are given "space" to somewhat sober up if they are pushed.
The argument about the spaced out closing times is valid but if there should be closing times or not in particular - I'm for having a definite closing time myself for many reasons.

Statistics Source: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/alcoholism/stats-country.htm

Also I might add that we have the third highest rate of consumption of alcohol ourselves. Open 24 hours ALONE might only make that worse!
Can you see anyone drinking less because the bars are open longer in all honesty!

Statistics Source: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_alc_con-food-alcohol-consumption-current

humanji

jimbo78 wrote: »

Chill out people. It's only alcohol.

But I like it, like it, yes I do!

Mossy Monk

I feel the alcohol laws are draconian. Pubs and night clubs should be allowed to close when they wish and I find it really pointless that you can only buy alcohol in a shop during restricted hours.

Gummy Panda

Tri wrote: »

It doesn't matter what time you close at. All the pubs belching out their full capacity of people onto the streets at the same time as the other pubs - THAT is the problem. Bound to be trouble. Why can't they see this? Idiots.

When i was in frankfurt i found it really good that everyone didn't spill out onto the street at the same time, then go looking for a macdonalds to have a fight in. Now there was a red light district near the pub i was drinking in so the german lads might have been too tired to fight.

Dyr

Biggins wrote: »

Well considering that Germany is one of the top countries for Alcoholism (4,575,778 by one count), the country is not exactly a walking advertisement either for staying open 24 hours a day either.

I speak the following as a 20 year barman. At least with closing time, the alcoholics (that don't know when to stop) are given "space" to somewhat sober up if they are pushed.
The argument about the spaced out closing times is valid but if there should be closing times or not in particular - I'm for having a definite closing time myself for many reasons.

Statistics Source: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/alcoholism/stats-country.htm

Also I might add that we have the third highest rate of consumption of alcohol ourselves. Open 24 hours ALONE might only make that worse!
Can you see anyone drinking less because the bars are open longer in all honesty!

Statistics Source: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_alc_con-food-alcohol-consumption-current

Now listen here my good man, our drinking habits have kept your tap jockey paychecks rolling in so don't be getting all high and mighty when we suggest putting more business yer way :mad:

Civilised nations saunter out of the bar whenver they please, we need to get over this holy catholic idea of being home in time for nightlight

Insect Overlord

NADA wrote:

Irish Drinking Laws are pure b**locks

Does this mean that other countries' drinking laws ar impure b**locks?

Kinetic^

Biggins wrote: »

Well considering that Germany is one of the top countries for Alcoholism (4,575,778 by one count), the country is not exactly a walking advertisement either for staying open 24 hours a day either.

I speak the following as a 20 year barman. At least with closing time, the alcoholics (that don't know when to stop) are given "space" to somewhat sober up if they are pushed.
The argument about the spaced out closing times is valid but if there should be closing times or not in particular - I'm for having a definite closing time myself for many reasons.

Statistics Source: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/alcoholism/stats-country.htm

Also I might add that we have the third highest rate of consumption of alcohol ourselves. Open 24 hours ALONE might only make that worse!
Can you see anyone drinking less because the bars are open longer in all honesty!

Statistics Source: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_alc_con-food-alcohol-consumption-current

Solid post. I couldn't agree more. The pubs over here are open long enough and there a various amount of early houses, normal licensed and late bars to cater for those working different hours of the day.

minidazzler

Biggins wrote: »

Well considering that Germany is one of the top countries for Alcoholism (4,575,778 by one count), the country is not exactly a walking advertisement either for staying open 24 hours a day either.

I speak the following as a 20 year barman. At least with closing time, the alcoholics (that don't know when to stop) are given "space" to somewhat sober up if they are pushed.
The argument about the spaced out closing times is valid but if there should be closing times or not in particular - I'm for having a definite closing time myself for many reasons.

Statistics Source: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/alcoholism/stats-country.htm

Also I might add that we have the third highest rate of consumption of alcohol ourselves. Open 24 hours ALONE might only make that worse!
Can you see anyone drinking less because the bars are open longer in all honesty!

Statistics Source: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_alc_con-food-alcohol-consumption-current

That according to your source means 1/18 alcoholics, Same source says it Ireland is 1/20.

syklops

Kinetic^ wrote: »

Solid post. I couldn't agree more. The pubs over here are open long enough and there a various amount of early houses, normal licensed and late bars to cater for those working different hours of the day.

Im sorry but that is bollocks. There are a total of 50 early houses in Ireland. There are 15 in dublin. For a city with the population of over a million, thats not exactly a massive amount. A late bar can only be open until 2:30am as per new laws(so its not really a late bar), and the off-licenses HAVE to close at ten. I don't know where your getting your "open long enough" mentality.

I dont want someone telling me when I am allowed to drink and when I have to stop. I just finished work, and i would quite like a crisp pint of guinness before I go to bed, but at 00:10 on a sunday night you can probably forget trying to find one. The answer I will get from which ever barman i ask, if I get into the pub will be "People have work tomorrow, you cant have them boozing all night". Nice. But I am not working tomorrow and instead of boozing all weekend, I spent most of it working. Do I not deserve a pint or short when I want one?

Dragan

NADA wrote: »

Was just thinking about this. Recently moved to Germany to live. Head to clubs here regularly and what I find great about them is that they are willing to stay open and serve beer until the last customer leaves. So why in Ireland do we have to close our doors at 2'O Clock or something? Yeah people say it's to avoid trouble and all that rubbish but how come Germans go into clubs drink about 4-5 litres of beer and walk home without any of the social disturbance you see in Ireland. Heres my theory. Basically the lack of trouble here is to do with the lack of skangers! So basically I propose that all the Irish scangers are just shot and then the rest of us can have bigger longer safer piss ups! Also it's perfectly acceptable here to walk around drinking beer in the streets! In Ireland that would just lead to trouble and I belive it is illegal!!!! I'm never coming home!!!

It's not skangers, though you do put forth a nice scapegoat.

It's the basic inability of your average Irish person to decide which one should be the last one and just go home.

Ross_Mahon

Clubs only open at 2AM in some countries, Heading home at 2 is way too early! The night is only young...:(

anonymous_joe

In Argentina you don't go out to a club until 4 or so.

That's just not doable when Irish people are involved. Our mindset will tell us that we have to drink until then, then go to the club and continue drinking. We're too immature about it.

And before people chime in with 'But I can control how much I drink' I don't doubt you. I can too, but everyone knows people who can't or won't. Everyone has a mate whose a piss artist, and that's probably an unchangeable facet of Irish social life.

Smart Bug

I agree with the OP. We're living in a draconian society regarding drink laws, due to the current (usually religious) temperance/prohibition lobby groups influence on the government.

I also take these average consumption surveys with a pinch of salt. Exepnditure surveys have been acknowledged as skewed, due to the fact that most European countries categorise off-licence and restauarant expenditure on alcohol as 'entertainment and food', whereas Ireland categorises all expenditure on alcohol as just that. Therefore, our average alcohol expenditure figures are skewed upwards in respect to the rest of Europe. Is it possible consumption trends suffer the same skew?