Last orders on Kildare’s pubs as they join national decline

A NEW report commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) shows a continuing decline in the number of pubs in Ireland, with a decline of 13.6% in Kildare since 2005.

The report, compiled by Economist and Associate Professor Emeritus at DCU, Anthony Foley, shows that an average of 112 pubs stopped trading every year, with a further 600 to 1,000 closures estimated over the next decade.

DIGI said the high cost of doing of business was a major contributory factor to the alarming rate of closures recorded by the report. It said that without immediate action by the Government many villages and small towns will soon lose their last remaining pub which would deal a devastating blow to the economic and social fabric of that community.

DIGI has called for the Government to use the upcoming Budget to introduce a 10% cut in excise, which currently stands as the second highest in the European Union.

Commenting on the report, author Professor Tony Foley said:

“This report reveals a pattern of pub closures across Ireland, particularly in rural Ireland in recent years. The addition of profound economic uncertainty through US trade tariffs and reduced levels of inbound tourism further threaten the financial foundations of family-owned pubs across the country.

Commenting on the report, DIGI secretary, Donall O’Keeffe said:

“More than 100 pubs are closing every year in Ireland, due in large part to the high costs imposed by the State. Without immediate intervention, up to 1,000 more pubs will close for the last time, leaving their communities without a vital community and tourism hub. Once closed, such pubs rarely re-open.