Offaly pub closure rates now the second highest in the state

Independent TD Carol Nolan has expressed concern following the publication of a report commissioned for The Drinks Industry of Ireland (DIGI) which has found that the rate of pub closures is highest in rural counties, including Offaly with closure rates of over 30% between 2005 and 2024.

According to the report, all 26 counties experienced declines in pub numbers over the 2005 to 2024 period. The highest decrease was in Limerick (-37.2%), followed by Offaly (-34.1%), Cork (-32.7%), Roscommon (-32.3%), Tipperary (-32.0%), Laois (-30.6%), Longford (-30.1%) and Westmeath (-30.0%).

Deputy Nolan said the research which further indicates that up to a further 1,000 pubs across the country could close over the coming decade paints a bleak outcome for a cultural and social institution that has been at the heart of communities for as long as anyone can remember.”

“This report is profoundly alarming, and it really highlights the need for direct government intervention, particularly around the need to use the upcoming Budget to introduce a 10% cut in excise, which currently stands as the second highest in the European Union.”

“It is only when we have the lost the pub and all that it represents as the focal point for music, craic, and tradition that we will now what we have lost.”

“It is one of the key features of our culture and our country that tourists regularly cite as the main reason why they visit Ireland. We cannot allow our tourism potential to be further decimated by the rampant closure rates we are currently witnessing.”

“At the national and EU level is vital that we also tackle the obscene excise rate we impose, of 23% which is the second-highest in Europe,” concluded Deputy Nolan.