84% of rural publicans say family members have no interest in taking over the running of their pub.
Another 37% say they’re thinking of retiring within the next two years.
The Vintners Federation of Ireland says costs, especially wage related ones, are putting many pubs at risk of closure, especially when the new living wage comes into force in 2026.
Kilkenny man Pat Crotty is CEO of the VFI and says the increase in costs are unsustainable, noting; “People in the hospitality business, which certainly includes all our members in the pub trade, ones who do food and ones who don’t, have been hit much harder, the Government’s own report indicated that they were going to see very significant increases in labour costs, in effect the Government is implementing a labour policy without a budget, hospitality employs 80% of the people who are in that low-paid category”.
