Rural Ireland is bearing the brunt of a deepening crisis in the pub trade, with closures now happening at a rate of one every 2.8 days, according to the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI).
VFI chief executive Pat Crotty told RTÉ’s Today with Colm Ó Mongáin that over 2,100 pubs had shut their doors since 2005, with rural counties recording the steepest losses over the past two decades.
A recent report from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland highlighted that these areas have been hardest hit.
“The closure rate is even higher,” Crotty said.
“It’s not one in every three and a half days now, it’s one in every 2.8 days, which is 20% worse than the headline suggests.”
He added: “The trend is getting more severe. It’s going to become more critical over time.”
Crotty described draught beer as “the lifeblood of small pubs” and a product deserving of stronger support.
“It’s homegrown, we should be supporting it. It is the least damaging of all alcoholic products,” he said.
The VFI is urging the Government to introduce a €73 million cut in excise duty on draught beer — a measure Crotty argued would especially help small publicans and cost far less than other recent tax changes.
“The particular excise cut that the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland are proposing to help small publicans is of the order of €73 million, which is a tiny fraction of the cost of the VAT change for food operators,” he said.
Crotty accused the Government of shifting policy in a way that had undermined otherwise viable pubs.
“Our argument is that the moving of the goalposts has been done by the Government. It is the significant change in Government-driven cuts that has caused us to be in the situation where otherwise healthy and viable businesses are now saying there’s no future in this.”
Excise duty on alcohol in Ireland remains among the highest in Europe. According to a 2024 DCU research report, Ireland has the second highest excise duty on beer and wine in the EU, beaten only by Finland, and the third highest excise duty on spirits, behind only Finland and Sweden. Meanwhile, fifteen EU economies do not impose any excise on wine. In addition,
France and Malta have very low wine excise tax.
The VFI and other industry bodies have long campaigned for cuts during the Budget process, but Crotty warned that without action, the pace of closures will only accelerate.