Irish ​government launches nightlife training to safeguard vulnerable clubbers

Next week, The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is launching a new initiative for nightlife staff to encourage the safeguarding of vulnerable people in Ireland.

The courses will go ahead across the nightlife industry as of next week in an attempt to create a safer environment within nightlife and prevent violence against women.

Following a trial run in December, the series of courses with assets and policy templates will be available for nightlife businesses to use for staff training.

“The need to provide a safe environment for all those who work and socialise in our towns and cities is so important and with that in mind, my Department is funding a series of vulnerability training courses for the Night-Time Economy Sector," Minister Catherine Martin said on Wednesday.

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In September last year, a Night-Time Economy Taskforce report was released detailing ways in which nightlife has become unsafe for vulnerable people and women, from spiking to sexual harassment.

Alongside the murder of Dublin’s 23-year-old Aisling Murphy, women in Ireland have described feeling more unsafe than ever over the past months according to September’s report.

The training series is open to anyone in Ireland interested in taking the course working within the nightlife sector. There are currently six sessions open for registration.

“I want to assist businesses in the Night-Time Economy to support and protect their staff and customers by identifying issues before they arise and also to have clear policies and procedures in place for when incidents occur,” Martin added.

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“The safety of women and all customers engaging in the Night-Time Economy needs to be prioritised. People should feel safe when they are out socialising at night without the fear of violence or harassment and that’s why it is important that staff are trained.”

Find out more about the initiative here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter