124 public houses have closed in Galway since 2005, a 21 per cent drop in the number of local hostelries, a new report from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland revealed last evening.
The stunning figures are part of a nationwide drop of 2,000 pubs which have shut their doors in the past 19 years. Author of the report, Prof Tony Foley told the Advertiser that the cost of maintaining small, family-run businesses in rural areas of counties like Galway is often unsustainable.
“We are also seeing that with many pubs, which are often small, family-run businesses, sustaining business is becoming harder and harder. Fostering commercial sustainability is crucial to safeguarding rural Irish pubs," he said.
"Ireland’s drinks and hospitality businesses are operating in an environment where the costs of doing business are ever rising. Energy, insurance, and other cost line items continue to rise, many by double digits. The sector is also faced with one of the most regressive excise tax environments for small and medium enterprises in Europe," Prof Foley said.
The decline of 21.6% (124 pubs ) in Galway since 2005 has been mainly focused in the county with the city being able to withstand the pressures to a greater degree, but increased business costs are placing that sector under pressure as well.
Titled “Support Growth: A Sustainable Future for Ireland’s Drinks and Hospitality Sector”, the report includes a county-by-county breakdown of the number of pubs shuttered. Counties Limerick (35.6% ), Roscommon (31.9% ), Cork (31.4% ), Tipperary (31.2% ) and Laois (30.6% ) have seen the highest declines, each exceeding the national closure average of 24%. Seven counties experienced a decline of 30% or more in their number of pubs.
All 26 counties have experienced a decline in pub numbers since 2005. The lowest number of pub closures over the period came in Dublin which has seen a decline of 3% in pub numbers. Other counties with lower closures rates include Meath (6.7% ), (Wicklow (8.9% ), Kildare (12% ) and Carlow (14.2% ).
This latest analysis comes on top of recently published data by the Restaurants Association of Ireland which found that 283 food-led businesses such as restaurants, cafés and gastropubs closed in the last six months of 2023, with a further 212 such businesses shuttered so far this year.
A recent survey of almost 600 pubs and restaurants, conducted as part of this report found that almost one in four had seen their business costs increase by 20-30% in the last two years. An additional 15% found that their business costs had increased by over 40% in the last two years.
Commenting on the report, DIGI Chair and Communications and Corporate Affairs Director at Irish Distillers, Kathryn D’Arcy, said the decline of over 2,000 pubs since 2005 reflects the real change and challenges this sector is dealing with.
"Pubs, restaurants, and hotels employ over 207,000 people which is 8.3% of all employees in the country. These people and the businesses they work for are part of the economic and social fabric of their communities.
“These businesses are integral to Ireland’s tourism offering. We need to take that consideration into account too. We are calling on Government to deliver a reduction in Ireland’s extremely high excise duties which would make an immediate, positive difference to the hundreds of small businesses in our sector struggling to stay open. We have costed, considered plans on how to do this and welcome engaging with government and others on our proposals," she said.
