Tipperary publican fears further pub closures unless Government take urgent action

A Tipperary publican has warned that more pubs will close throughout Tipperary and the rest of the country unless the Government takes immediate action to help support the sector in the upcoming Budget.

A recent report by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland found that 168 pubs have closed their doors in Tipperary since 2005, a drop of 32%.

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These closures formed part of 2,119 closures throughout Ireland during the same period.

In an online video released by DIGI, Richie Gleeson, who runs Gleeson’s Bar in Clonmel, said that pub owners’ costs have been increasing significantly in recent years and that many owners are struggling to meet them.

“In recent years my costs have gone up quite a lot. Rates have gone up massively, insurance, electricity, everything is going up,” he said. “They weren’t there to the same extent back when this business started 40 years ago,” he said.

Mr Gleeson said that a reduction in excise duty in the Budget would be of enormous assistance to publicans in helping to make pubs more viable.

Research commissioned by DIGI found that Ireland has the second highest excise rate in the EU and UK, with Irish customers paying 11 times the amount of excise on beer that German customers pay and 80 times the rate of excise on wine that French customers pay.

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“The current state of affairs means that we may not be sustainable into the future. I look at my daughter who wants to take this business over and think ‘is that possible for her’?” Mr Gleeson said.

“I’ve always said that the Irish people will lament the loss of the Irish pub after it’s gone and I believe that if this Government doesn’t sit up and pay attention to that they’re going to witness it in a shorter space of time than I ever thought was possible. They need to do something now or the Irish pub is in grave danger,” he said.

DIGI has called for a 10% reduction in excise in the upcoming Budget on October 7.

The full video can be seen here.