Irish pub trade in 'freefall'
The Irish pub trade is in "freefall" with over 1,500 pubs, clubs and restaurants closing in Ireland over the past five years costing thousands of jobs.
The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) survey revealed that the decline has accelerated over the past 18 months.
DIGI chairman Kieran Tobin said that the economic downturn, lifestyle changes and higher alcohol taxes had fuelled the closure rate. Tobin called for the Government to reduce duty by 20%.
"The Survey of Licensed Premises 2009 details trends in the on-trade from the height of the Boom to the present day, when the entire drinks industry is in virtual freefall.
"In 2004 we began to see a slowdown in sales and revenue in pubs, hotels, nightclubs, and restaurants, but the scale of the decline has accelerated sharply in the last 18 months."
The report's author, Anthony Foley added: "The overall picture is one of a sector suffering a period of sharp decline, with a large majority (70%) of all licensed premises surveyed reporting a decrease in net sales over the past five years.
"Moreover, the majority of licensed premises have relatively low annual sales revenues. 49% of all premises have annual sales revenues below €200,000, while at the low end, 27% of pubs located outside Dublin have annual sales revenues of less than €60,000.
"These declining revenues have had an impact on employment with 47% of all premises surveyed reporting a decrease in their staff levels over the five year period. This figure rises to 65% for pubs and bars in Dublin.
"At the same time, the on-trade remains employment intensive, with 75,000 people currently working in pubs, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, at an average of seven staff per premises.
"As a consequence, labour costs are significant. The share of wages and salaries in net sales is at or over 25% for 30% of licensed premises compared with 19% of premises in 2003."
