New report reveals 119 pubs have closed in Donegal since 2005
This figure represents a decline of 26.3 per cent, according to a new report commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI)
A total of 119 pubs have closed their doors in Donegal since 2005, representing a decline of 26.3 percent.
This is according to a new report commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI). It shows a continuing decline in the number of pubs in Ireland, with 2,119 - or one in four - closing their doors 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.
Between 2019 and 2024, the average annual closures rose to 128. All 26 counties experienced declines in pub numbers over the 2005 to 2024 period.
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 per cent 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. 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 per cent. 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 per cent VAT rate. The time for the Government to act is now before it is too late.”