Revision of Electric Picnic licence decision not possible, says Laois County Council

Laois County Council has said it is not possible to revisit its earlier decision not to grant a licence to allow this year's Electric Picnic to go ahead.

The annual festival in Stradbally was cancelled for the second year in a row following the council's decision earlier this month, which it said was based on "the most up-to-date public health advice made available to the council by the HSE".

However, on Tuesday chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said there were no major public health concerns for an outdoor festival to go ahead if all attendees were fully vaccinated.

Organisers Festival Republic and MCD called on the council to reverse its decision and grant the licence to allow this year's event to take place in late September, with only fully vaccinated people permitted entry, in light of Dr Holohan's remarks.

The council responded to these calls, stating such a u-turn would not be possible.

"There is no provision in law which enables Laois County Council to revisit that refusal or reconsider that application," the council said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.

Aside from Dr Holohan's comments, the council said the HSE's advice, or the public health measures surrounding outdoor events had not changed from when the original decision was made on August 4th.

"The Planning Authority, Laois County Council, further notes that even if a new application for an event licence is made, the statutory timelines do not allow for the processing of a new application to facilitate the event on the dates as intended in the application previously submitted," the council added.

Organisers had hoped the delayed 2021 festival could go ahead between September 24th-26th.