Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988

Exclusion of children from bars of licensed premises.

34.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the holder of a licence of any licensed premises shall not allow a child to be at any time in the bar of his licensed premises.

(2) It shall not be unlawful for the holder of a licence of any licensed premises to allow a child to be in the bar of his licensed premises at any time (other than a time during which the sale of intoxicating liquor is prohibited under the Acts) if such child is accompanied by his parent or guardian.

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall apply in the case of a child who is—

(a) a child of the licence-holder, or

(b) resident in the licensed premises, or

(c) in the bar of the licensed premises solely for the purpose of passing through in order to gain access to, or egress from, some other part of the premises.

(4) A holder of a licence of any licensed premises shall display in a conspicuous place in the bar of his licensed premises a notice stating that subject to the provisions of section 31 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988, it is an offence to allow a child (within the meaning of that Act) to be in a bar at any time during which the sale of intoxicating liquor is permitted unless accompanied by his parent or guardian.

(5) A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section, or a person who causes or procures or attempts to cause or procure a child to go to or to be in the bar of a licensed premises in contravention of this section, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding—

(a) £100, in the case of a first offence, or

(b) £250, in the case of a second or any subsequent offence.

(6) A person who contravenes subsection (4) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding—

(a) £20, in the case of a first offence, or

(b) £50, in the case of a second or any subsequent offence.

(7) If a child is found in the bar of a licensed premises unaccompanied by his parent or guardian, the parent or, as the case may be, the guardian, of the child shall unless he establishes that the child was so present—

(i) without his knowledge or consent, or

(ii) in accordance with the circumstances specified in subsection (3) of this section,

be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.

(8) In any proceedings against a person for a contravention of subsection (1) of this section, it shall be a defence for such person to prove that he used all due diligence to prevent the child from being admitted to the bar or that he had reasonable grounds for believing that the person in respect of whom he is alleged to have committed the offence was not a child.