This article is from page 6 of the 2006-05-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
PERMANENT drinking-up time is on the cards for many ‘locals’, with 43 pubs in Clare closing in just one year. And that number is expected to quadruple over the next few years, vintners have warned.
A Clare Vintners’ Federation representative says the future looks grim for the small pubs which have traditionally been an intrinsic part of many communities.
National figures show that 597 pubs closed nationwide between 2004 and 2005, 43 of these in Clare.
Clare Vinters’ Association spokesman, Michael McNamara from Scariff, said that this number “is just the tip of the iceberg. In the next few years, we are expecting that number to quadruple.”
And small rural pubs are being worst hit. The Scariff publican said, “Go into any rural village and you’ll see family names over pubs that are closed.”
The Vintners Federation are predicting that, of the 5,800 pubs outside Dublin, there will be just 3,000 left in five to seven years time.
Rising charges, increasing taxation, lack of public transport to avoid a drink-driving prosecution and the smoking ban are all contributing to the downfall of the local pub, the vintners say.
“Local authorities seem to pluck new charges out of the sky and we haven’t been allowed under law to provide any kind of comfort outside for our smoking customers,” McNamara said.
“People come to the pub to sit and chat — now they have to go outside and, on top of that, stand in the cold and rain.”
Heavy taxation is making the Irish pub a dearer place to drink, he added.
“If you go to the Canaries, you can buy a bottle of Jameson for €12 — here, the tax alone on a bottle is that much.”
And McNamara warned that the decline of the pub will change the fabric of rural society.
“Pubs have been in the forefront in the tourism trade and the pub has been the focus for everything from community meetings to games of cards. That’s all changing,” he said.