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Suspension of intoxicating liquor licence for allowing licensed premises to be used for sale, etc., of controlled drugs and disqualification from holding such licence, etc.
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18.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), where, upon an application by a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector, a judge of the District Court is satisfied that a person who is the holder of an intoxicating liquor licence permits or suffers the use of the premises to which the licence attaches for the sale, supply or distribution of any controlled drug or did not exercise control which was reasonable in all the circumstances over the premises to prevent such sale, supply or distribution, the judge shall order that the licence be immediately suspended.
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(2) An application under subsection (1) shall not be made on the ground that the licence-holder did not exercise control which was reasonable in all the circumstances over the premises to prevent the sale, supply or distribution of any controlled drug, unless a member of the Garda Síochána has previously—
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(a) advised the licence-holder that he or she has a reasonable suspicion that there was such sale, supply or distribution on the premises,
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(b) warned the licence-holder to take whatever action was necessary to prevent such sale, supply or distribution, and
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(c) given the licence-holder a reasonable period of time, being not less than 4 weeks from the date of the warning, to enable the licence-holder to take whatever action was necessary to prevent such sale, supply or distribution.
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(3) Where an intoxicating liquor licence is suspended under this section, it shall not be renewed until the annual licensing district court of the fourth year following the date of the suspension.
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(4) During the period of suspension of an intoxicating liquor licence, that licence shall, for all purposes of the Licensing Acts, be treated as if it had been forfeited.
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(5) Any person whose intoxicating liquor licence is suspended under this section shall be disqualified for the period of the suspension from holding any intoxicating liquor licence.
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(6) Where an intoxicating liquor licence is suspended under this section, the premises to which the licence attached shall not again have any intoxicating liquor licence granted in respect of those premises before the annual licensing district court of the fourth year following the date of the suspension.
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(7) Where a licence is suspended under this section and the person to whom the licence had been granted was not the owner of the premises in respect of which the licence applied, the provisions of subsection (6) relating to such premises shall not apply where, on application to the court by the owner, the court is satisfied that the owner did not know and had no reason to suspect that the holder permitted or suffered the use of, or did not exercise control over, the premises as referred to in subsection (1).
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(8) Any application under subsection (1) or (7) may be made at any time to the District Court for the licensing area in which the premises to which the licence relates is situate.
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