Tickets for nightclubs in Ireland “will have to be booked at least an hour in advance under new covid-19 regulations”.
Under new regulations, an electronic ticketing system will be introduced into Ireland’s nightlife which will require pre booking for party-goers, preventing spontaneous nights out.
The new rules for Ireland's night time economy is expected to be published this coming Thursday.
Pub and late-night industry reps met with government officials on Tuesday morning about the changes.
This presents a tricky situation as venues that wish to open will need to have a ticketing system in place and ready to go before Thursday night.
Initial guidelines for nightclubs was published by the Irish government friday evening, only shortly before clubs reopened for the first time in nearly 600 days.
Guidelines states that along with a covid certificate and ID, any attendee would need to have an advance, pre-purchased ticket.
Despite this, some details are yet to be ironed out between the government and the industry.
On the meeting on Tuesday, industry representatives asked for a two-week delay to the introduction of the new rules, to give them time to prepare.
Government officials said at the meeting that only ticket holders should be allowed into nightclub queues.
However, worries have already been expressed about the impact the rules will have on the night-time economy.
Sunil Sharpe, from the Give Us The Night campaign, said: "For club promoters and venues, a lot of them have moved towards ticketed events, especially over the last five years. But in any case, they've always had the advantage of the walk-up crowd, which is really vital, especially as we move into the winter."
He said that many entertainment operators and the public may go across the border to Ireland instead.
"It is anti-competitive. It's going to be really difficult for hospitality and entertainment and night-time venues to manage. We could lose a significant amount of footfall.
"There's lots of logistical issues," he added.
"We haven't actually seen the final guidelines yet. We all gave our feedback," he told RTE radio following the meeting on Tuesday.
