County’s pub trade dying off

PUBS in Clare have experienced a drop of 60% in business in the past two years and are struggling to stay trading, according to Gerry Collins, chairman of the Clare branch of the Vintners Federation of Ireland.

He said there are a combination of factors for the fall in business, citing commercial rates, drink-driving laws, the recession, the existence of headshops and low drink prices in supermarkets among the challenges publicans face.
Mr Collins has been the proprietor of Charlie Stewart’s on Parnell Street, Ennis, for more than seven years.
“Business is down a lot since I took over the pub. Business is at about 40% of what it was two years ago. That’s common to other pubs around the town too. We are facing so many issues now and staying in business is a struggle,” Mr Collins said.
“A lot of our regular customers would have been in their twenties and thirties, many of them are now out of work and have stopped going out in town because they are short of money.
“We cannot compete with the prices that supermarkets are selling drink, especially beer, at. They put drink prices low just to get people in to buy something else. We have to provide events for people in the pub – live events and televised events  – and hold drink promotions to coincide with them,” he added.
He also said that rates are a “huge issue” for publicans. “It is a big problem for us in Ennis. We are struggling to pay our rates, because business is down so much. Businesses in Ennis have closed down and I know that at least part of the reason was because they couldn’t afford to pay their rates to the council. 
“If rates were reduced, businesses might have a chance of staying open. In fairness to them, Ennis Town Council is making arrangements with businesses regarding payment of rates but at the end of the day we have to pay them at some stage and it’s not easy when the bill keeps going up. Rates should be reduced in line with the drop in trade that businesses are experiencing.”
Mr Collins said that the decrease in the legal limit of alcohol permissible for driving is also hitting business. “Effectively, the drink-driving level means people can really only have one drink in the pub or restaurant. A lot of people liked to come out and have a meal and share a bottle of wine but a couple can’t even do that now.”
He also claimed that some people who had previously come to the pub have turned to using substances available in headshops. “There are some people who used to come to the pub who aren’t coming now because they can get high for less than €20 on headshop substances. We can spot the people who are on drugs a mile away and we won’t let people in through the door if they have taken something, because they are liable to do anything,” Mr Collins remarked.
“Based on figures from two years ago and now, our business has dropped to about 40% of what it was two years ago. Other pubs are experiencing the same level of a drop in business. Most premises are trying to take on the challenge proactively but it is not easy. There are very few busy nights in bars now,” he added.
He said that he didn’t have exact figures for how many pubs around the county have closed down in the past two years but was aware of a number of pubs, which had to shut up shop.
“Every area in Clare and around the country in general is experiencing the closure of pubs. Rural areas are experiencing it more but in towns where there was a demand for plenty of pubs previously, we are all struggling now and many have made the decision to close,” he added.
His views on the challenges facing publicans were echoed by the outgoing president of the VFI, Val Hanley, who was in Ennis for the organisation’s annual conference. He said publicans were being forced to look at the value for money they offer customers in a bid to stay open.