Vintners warn 'astronomical’ electricity bill increases could close down Limerick pubs

AS BILLS keep increasing due to the cost of living crisis, publicans around the country are calling on the government for energy support.

Everyone is feeling the pressure and Limerick pubs are no exception.

Publicans say they require urgent and substantive energy supports in the light of new research which shows more than four in ten Irish adults plan fewer visits to pubs for the rest of the year, due to the cost of living crisis.

According to the Cost of Living Consumer Pulse Survey carried out by the Curren Goodden Associates, 42% of Irish adults plan to visit pubs less regularly between now and New Year’s Eve.

In reaction to the survey, Vintners’ Federation of Ireland CEO, Paul Clancy, has called for urgent and substantive energy supports for the pub trade in Budget 2023. He commented that pubs cannot pass on increases as customers are too already under financial strain.

"The survey findings paint a bleak future for the pubs of Ireland, their staff and the communities where they often provide a vital social hub," said Mr Clancy, whose organisation represents a total of 4,000 publicans.

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Mike McMahon, from Mother Macs Public House in the city, doesn’t agree with the statistics reported by the Curren Goodden Associates.

“It’s probably going to cost people as much money to sit at home than to go out. I’m hearing from customers who are in shared accommodation that they may go to the pub more because it’ll probably be cheaper than staying in their own house,” Mike told the Limerick Leader.

“Whereas I look at older customers and they probably won’t go out and will choose to light the fire, which in this day and age is recessive and quite sad,” he noted.

Mothers Macs pub highlighted the soaring costs of their electricity bills that increased by about €3,500.

To pay for their electricity supply, Mike McMahon said he now has to sell 33 pints of Guinness a day to cover Mother Macs’ bill compared to the 5 pints a day he had to sell in 2019. Things have taken a turn for the worse.

“In 2019, my bill would have been roughly around 1400 euros. Whereas now, my latest bill was around €4,999,” he said.

Mike isn’t the only one worried about the soaring rise of electricity and energy bills. Paul Flannery, the owner of Flannerys on Catherine Street, has also seen an “astronomical” increase in his bills.

“We’ve probably had a 300% increase. The commercial rates have just gone astronomical,” said Paul.

“It’s scary as to what’s going to happen because we still have our day-to-day costs on top of that as well. It’s a case of what we do to try and balance that. Hopefully, the budget will shed some light and give some support to businesses to help us get through this period.”

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Paul said that, at the moment, fewer customers are walking through Flannerys’ doors.

“Everybody is pulling back on spending money because everyone is in the same boat. We don’t know what’s coming down the road. The government needs to step in and do something. Otherwise, there’s going to be job losses across the whole country,” said Paul.

As the colder months are fast approaching, Paul is worried about balancing the cost of electricity and heating. “It’s the uncertainty, people are wondering what to cut back on."

Willie Stapleton, manager of The Still House Bar on Thomas Street, has too seen an increase on his electricity bills.

“Looking at the most recent bills in the premises, we definitely exceeded nearly 80% in the increase,” commented Willie.

As The Still House organises music nights six times a week, Willie notes everything stems around the electricity.

“Obviously, we're a big music player here where music's six nights a week. With all our bands plugging in all their gear, the lighting, that's a major factor and us getting the business in the door as well.”

“Hopefully, today’s budget will relieve some of that pressure going forward, and there are talks in the channels that we’re going to be getting a cap of 40% increase as opposed to what’s going to be across the board in the country”, concluded Willie.