Stricter rules, ironically published on St Patrick’s Day yesterday, ban the sale of alcohol from shops after 9 p.m. in a move that will go some way towards preventing people from drinking in the streets.

Street and market hawkers have been banned from selling or serving alcoholic beverages altogether.

A legal notice lays down that alcohol can only be consumed on the premises where they are bought between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. Such premises have to be licensed as clubs, wedding halls or catering establishments where the primary purpose is the sale of food and alcohol.

Alcohol can no longer be stored on commercial premises with a licence that does not permit the sale of alcohol.

The regulation also stipulates that alcohol and tobacco products cannot be sold to people under 17, which has been the situation since 2008.

Philip Fenech, a spokesman for the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprise – GRTU, welcomed this legislation and said it emerged after years of discussion and consultation with stakeholders. “This will promote the common good by striking a balance between the interests of different businesses.”

He said for years there were shop owners that sold alcohol late into the night, leading to pockets of people drinking in the streets. “This didn’t look healthy in a five-star area,” he said, adding the shops did not have to abide by the same level of regulation and compliance as that applicable to bars and clubs.

The same situation arose with hawkers who sold alcohol at concert venues where the organisers of such concerts paid thousands of euros in insurance and marketing and depended on income from alcohol sales to make a profit, Mr Fenech said.