Concern is being expressed in Clare that up to a quarter of all pubs will be closed in the next five years.
The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland has been holding its annual conference in Cork, which has heard criticism of the government for turning its back on rural publicans.
The VFI says changes to drink-driving legislation introduced last October, as well as soaring insurance premium costs, mean publicans are struggling to keep their doors open.
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Clare’s VFI Chair Darragh McAllister, of Lucas’s Bar in Ennis, fears we’re only beginning to see the extent of their struggles:
