Publicans warn new laws will hasten rural pub closures
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The liberalisation of pub licencing laws will decimate the number of rural pubs in Ireland, TDs and senators will be warned today.
At an Oireachtas hearing to discuss the Sale of Alcohol Bill, pub representative bodies will argue that proposals to increase the number of licensed premises will actually have the opposite effect in rural areas and drive current bar owners out of business.
The legislation aims to modernise the country's patchwork of laws governing alcohol sales in pubs, restaurants and off licences, some of which date back more than 200 years.
Alcohol licences will be allowed for museums and galleries, while pubs will be permitted to stay open for longer and nightclubs allowed to stay open until 6am.
The bill also includes the removal, over a three-year period, of the extinguishment provision, whereby a new operator cannot enter the pub trade without first acquiring an existing licence.
With one in five pubs closing over the past 17 years, the Government said the new laws would help rural towns and villages by removing a barrier to opening a new premises.
However, the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) and the Licensed Vintners' Association (LVA) said the removal of the extinguishment provision will mean the number of pubs will potentially be unlimited.
“This will massively impact villages that right now are struggling to support one small pub," VFI Chief Executive Paul Clancy said.
“Deregulation will precipitate the closure of many pubs as the owners decide to exit the business in the face of unsustainable competition.
“While the adage ‘the market will find its level’ is strictly true, it fails to take into account the cultural and community value of the existing pubs,” says Mr Clancy.
The LVA, which mostly represents publicans in Dublin, said the move will lead to pubs on every corner in major towns and cities while more rural pubs die off.
It said the extinguishment provision was one of the few measures that ensured rural pubs retained value and were an asset to their livelihoods.
"If the Government’s plan to scrap this process is adopted, they will effectively be wiping out the value of thousands of rural pubs overnight. It will result in more rural pubs dying off,” the LVA said.
LVA Chief Executive Donall O’Keeffe said that Ireland is “over-pubbed” and that proportionately, there are almost twice as many pubs in the Republic of Ireland than there are in the UK which has a liberalised pub market.
“Rural pubs are closing because they don’t have a market. Their customer base is vanishing. New pubs aren’t going to appear in locations that aren’t commercially viable,” he said.