A new report commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) shows a continuing decline in the number of pubs in Ireland, with 2,119 – or one in four – closing their doors since 2005 – and Limerick topping the list nationally, with 178 closures, a drop of 37.2% of pubs trading in the county.
In Cork, 399 pubs have closed since 2005, representing a 32.7% decrease, third in the table behind Offaly (34.1%). All 26 counties experienced declines in pub numbers over the 2005 to 2024 period. In Tipperary, there have been 168 closures (-32.0%). Waterford saw 74 premises cease trading (-25.5%), with 186 pubs still in operation as of 2024.
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.
The lowest decrease was in Dublin with a drop of -1.7% (13 closures), followed by Meath with a decrease of -9.5%. Wicklow had a decrease of 10.8% and all other counties saw a 13% or greater decrease.
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.
The Government are being called on by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland to use the upcoming Budget to introduce a 10% cut in excise, which currently stands as the second highest in the European Union.
