BUSINESSES from the hospitality and retail sectors will march to Leinster House today to highlight the high costs facing small and medium-sized businesses.
The demonstration, organised by the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the Vintners Federation of Ireland, will see former minister and broadcaster Ivan Yates act as master of ceremonies.
Business owners will march from Mount Street Upper, past the Department of Finance to Leinster House over the lack of support offered to SMEs in Budget 2025.
Business owners have said that soaring energy costs, inflated input costs, added to budget changes such as increases to the minimum wage in January and the introduction of pension auto-enrolment in September 2025, is placing “immense strain” on SMEs, particularly in the hospitality and retail sectors.
The business groups have argued that the ‘Power Up’ grant of €4,000 in the budget averages out as only an extra €77 a week and will not make “any significant dent” in the cost increases facing businesses.
Writing in the Irish Sun today, Pat Crotty, Vintners’ Federation of Ireland CEO, explains why he and his colleagues are taking to the streets.
‘HUGE LETDOWN’
Today, publicans from every corner of Ireland will gather in Dublin to make their voices heard. We’re not just marching for ourselves—we’re marching for every man and woman who loves their local pub.
Because right now, the future of the Irish pub is under serious threat.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just about business. This is about community. It’s about tradition, and it’s about jobs.
If you care about any of those things, then you should be alarmed by what’s happening to the pub trade. And you should understand why we feel we have no choice but to take our frustration to the streets.
The Budget was a huge letdown for publicans. At a time when costs are skyrocketing and pressure is mounting on small businesses, the Government has turned its back on us.
‘GONE FOR GOOD’
There was barely a mention of supports for the hospitality sector, and what little they did offer was nowhere near enough to keep us afloat.
It’s a slap in the face to the hard-working publicans who are doing everything they can to keep their doors open, to keep the lights on, and to keep people employed.
We have experienced massive hikes in every product we purchase, from drink to food, insurance and —most critically—labour costs.
We’re all for treating staff fairly, but the pace of minimum wage increases is crippling small businesses like ours.
Make no mistake, this isn’t just a ‘publican problem.’ When pubs go under, jobs are lost, and communities suffer. And in rural Ireland, where the local pub is often the beating heart of the community, the impact is even greater.
Once that pub is gone, it’s gone for good. And we’ve already lost far too many.
‘BLOW AFTER BLOW’
It might surprise people to learn that there’s very little profit in pulling a pint these days. Between the high cost of labour and sky-high taxes, the margins are so slim that many publicans are barely breaking even.
When you see a busy pub on a Saturday night, it might look like things are going well—but for many of us, that simply isn’t the case.
The Government seems to think we can just absorb these extra costs.
But we can’t. Publicans have been absorbing blow after blow for years now, from the pandemic to rising costs, and we’ve finally reached breaking point. Enough is enough.
Right now, the Government is treating publicans like cash cows. The excise duty on alcohol in Ireland is one of the highest in Europe, and that’s before you even factor in VAT and other costs.
All of this gets passed on to you, the customer. So, when you’re paying over €6 for a pint in some places, it’s not because the publican is pocketing a huge profit. It’s because we’re being squeezed from all sides.
WHY WE’RE MARCHING
And now, with the rising cost of wages, we’re expected to pay even more, even though many of us simply can’t afford it.
The reality is, if things don’t change soon, many pubs won’t be able to keep their doors open. We’ll see more closures, more job losses, and fewer places for people to meet, socialise, and connect.
That’s why we’re marching. We’re calling on the Government to recognise the crucial role that pubs play in Irish life and to give us the support we need to survive. We’re not asking for special treatment.
We’re asking for a fair deal. We need immediate action on wage supports and a rethink on the taxes that are killing our industry.
We’ve been warning the Government for months, but our concerns have been ignored.
Earlier this year even the Government’s own report said small businesses couldn’t sustain the level of cost increases introduced through Government policy.
So, today, we’ll be marching through Dublin to send a message loud and clear: the pub industry is in crisis, and if the Government doesn’t step in soon, the consequences will be devastating—not just for publicans, but for communities all over Ireland.