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23 Oct 2025
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23 Oct 2025
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The Vintners Federation of Ireland is warning that unless some sections of the Bill are changed, many family-run businesses will close.
TRADITIONAL Limerick pubs are in danger of being undermined by the latest Sale of Alcohol Bill which is proposed by the government.
The Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) is warning that unless some sections of the Bill are changed, many family-run businesses will close.
Its concerns lie within the proposal to abolish ‘extinguishment’ – the licensing system that allows a new pub to open only when another pub is permanently closed.
Limerick VFI Chairman Paul Flannery says the proposed change could have a major impact. “ Deregulating pub licences makes going into the [pub] business unattractive. The demographics within certain areas have gone so low that the population isn’t there to support a number of businesses so we need to support the ones that are already there,” he told Limerick Live.
Originally from Dundrum House Hotel, and now the owner of The Pallas Bar and Bistro in Pallasgreen, William Crowe concurrs with the VFI. “If they (government) are going to deregulate the licences, the value is going to fall out of the business,” he told Limerick Live.
“It will be a further nail into the coffin for the businesses that are struggling in rural Ireland.”
Rural publican Eamon McElligott, owner of Brown Joe’s Bar in Athea, west Limerick agrees that the proposed changes will lead to some serious adverse effects for pubs like his across the county.
"With the ongoing cost of living crisis and the energy crisis, this will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he commented. “Without the licensing laws for protection, it will have a detrimental effect on existing pubs in rural areas. How can I make investments in my business, not knowing that I am protected by licensing laws,” he implored.
Over the past 17 years, there has been a 21% decline in pub numbers across the country and, according to the VFI, these proposed changes will only exacerbate the trend.
More specifically, there has been a decrease in seven-day licences, from 8,617 in 2005 to 6,788 in December 2021.
Later this month, the VFI will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice to discuss the matter further.
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