There are almost 50 fewer pubs operating in Laois than there were in 2005, a decrease of over 30% over the past two decades.
With a total of 48 fewer pubs are operating here than 20 years ago, Laois has seen one of the sharpest declines in the industry of any county across Ireland.
The data comes from a new report commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), which shows that every single county experienced a decline in pub numbers during this period.
Limerick saw the biggest decrease (-37.2%), followed by Offaly (-34.1%) Cork (-32.7%), Roscommon (-32.3%) and Tipperary (-32.0%), with Laois’s decline of 30.6% representing the sixth-worst figure in the country.
The lowest decrease was in Dublin with a drop of 1.7%, followed by Meath (-9.5%) and Wicklow (-10.8%).
Over 2,100 pubs have closed nationally over the last two decades and DIGI say their research indicates up to a further 1,000 pubs could close over the coming decade.
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.
Professor Foley’s research shows the rate of decline has been one in every four pubs closing their doors since 2005 – with the number of pubs in Ireland gone from 8,617 to 6,498; a decline of 24.6%.
DIGI said “the high cost of doing of business was a major contributory factor to the alarming rate of closures recorded by the report.”
The organisation 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.
“This report reveals a pattern of pub closures across Ireland, particularly in rural Ireland in recent years,” Professor Foley said.
“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.
“In the absence of government intervention, we are likely to see a further 600 to 1,000 pubs close over the coming decade.”
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.
“The Government could improve commercial viability overnight by cutting excise by 10%.
“With Irish consumption of alcohol having fallen to average EU levels, and likely to continue dropping, it is no longer justifiable that pubs should be faced with the second-highest excise rates in Europe. This is on top of a hefty 23% VAT rate. The time for the Government to act is now before it is too late.”
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