Paul Cullen, Consumer Affairs Correspondent, The Irish Times
Rural pubs are closing at a rate of more than one a day as drinkers move their custom to urban bars and off-licences, new figures show.
Almost 440 fewer pub licences were issued or renewed last year compared to 2005, according to the figures compiled by the Revenue Commissioners. This is the steepest decline ever recorded. The Vintners' Federation of Ireland (VFI) responded to the figures yesterday by calling on the Government to give rates relief to rural pubs and reductions in vehicle registration tax for members who provide transport for their customers. "Small post offices are gone, corner shops have been decimated and even the church is suffering a shortage of priests. Now the last bastion of rural Ireland where people interact socially is under threat," said Paul Stevenson, president of the VFI.
The biggest falls were recorded in the Border, Midlands and Western (BMW) counties, where 227 pub licences were lost, and in counties Kerry, Cork, Clare and Limerick, where licences fell by 130. In contrast, Dublin lost just 10 licences and the rest of Leinster 70. While pub numbers are plummeting, the off-licence trade is booming.
There were 46 additional off-licences in Munster last year, 155 in Leinster and 46 in Dublin. Vintners' groups have been warning about the difficulties faced by rural pubs since the smoking ban was introduced in 2004 and random breath-testing started last year.
However, these figures are even worse than they predicted, as the opening of new pubs in urban centres is partly offset by a bigger fall in pub licences in rural areas. "People want to drink at home, or in hotels." Although drink licensing has been liberalised in recent years, it is still necessary to extinguish one drinks licence to create another. Many rural pub licences are being bought by business interests who use the permit to open an urban pub or off-licence.According to Ms Cassidy, the market price for a pub licence is about €175,000-€185,000, compared to about €85,000 in 2000. Overall, there are about 8,500 pubs in the State.
The biggest falls were recorded in the Border, Midlands and Western (BMW) counties, where 227 pub licences were lost, and in counties Kerry, Cork, Clare and Limerick, where licences fell by 130. In contrast, Dublin lost just 10 licences and the rest of Leinster 70. While pub numbers are plummeting, the off-licence trade is booming.
There were 46 additional off-licences in Munster last year, 155 in Leinster and 46 in Dublin. Vintners' groups have been warning about the difficulties faced by rural pubs since the smoking ban was introduced in 2004 and random breath-testing started last year.
However, these figures are even worse than they predicted, as the opening of new pubs in urban centres is partly offset by a bigger fall in pub licences in rural areas. "People want to drink at home, or in hotels." Although drink licensing has been liberalised in recent years, it is still necessary to extinguish one drinks licence to create another. Many rural pub licences are being bought by business interests who use the permit to open an urban pub or off-licence.According to Ms Cassidy, the market price for a pub licence is about €175,000-€185,000, compared to about €85,000 in 2000. Overall, there are about 8,500 pubs in the State.
Alerte Pubs !! Disparition de plus d'un pub par jour en zone rurale nous dit le Irish Times... Crise de l'Irlandite?
Comme a la veille de l'interdiction de fumer dans les lieux publics, lorsqu'on predisait la fermeture massive de Pubs et une crise du manque a gagner, c'est le Smoking Ban qui est mis en cause, ou bien la systematisation des controles routiers comme les alcootests a l'heure de la sortie des Pubs. Temperons.
Tout se joue au niveau des renouvellements de licences: il faut une licence eradiquee pour qu'une autre soit accordee. Les nouvelles licences sont surtout achetes par des groupes qui transferent la licence d'un pub rural en ville pour coller, si vous voulez mon avis, au mode de vie plus urbain des irlandais. Les irlandais aiment bien se savoir "sophistiques" comme des continentaux (c'est nous) et les sessions de trinque civilisee dans les hotels se developpent ainsi que les Dinner Parties, une curiosite sociale il y a seulement quatre ans, a mon arrivee, et pour lesquelles il est frequent qu'on achete son vin, ses alcools ou ses bieres, moins taxes a l'etranger ou les duty free des aeroports.
Ce qui est avere, c'est une certaine crise de la ruralite: le tissu social se distend, bien qu'encore largement preserve. Les quartiers residentiels poussent comme des champignons et les nouveaux habitants de tous horizons et tous comtes ne recreent evidemment jamais le lien qui existait dans les noyaux villageois ou on vivait entre locaux. A cela s'ajoute une politique publique discutable qui a consiste a couper les vivres aux conseils de villes et comtes, alors que l'argent coule a flot, et comme en France, les bureaux de postes et commerces de proximite sont soumis a la loi de la rentabilite.
Un postier de Waterford vient d'ailleurs d'annoncer qu'il se presentera aux elections legislatives de Juin sans etiquette pour denoncer la mort lente du service public de proximite et defendre les droits de ceux qui en dependent, et notamment les gens ages pour retirer leur retraite chaque semaine ou payer leurs factures.
T & H Doolans, Waterford City
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire