THE role that rural pubs play in the lives of communities across West Cork and around the county needs to be recognised by the government, according to a local councillor.
At this week’s meeting of the local authority, Cllr Brendan McCarthy (FG) raised a motion calling on the Minister for Rural and Community Affairs, Dara Calleary, to recognise the vital role rural pubs play in providing a service to their communities.
He also asked that a rebate scheme be introduced to encourage rural pubs to remain open.
Cllr McCarthy, who previously ran a village pub, said some such enterprises are community centres as much as pubs.
‘They are the place where cards happen, where community organisations hold their meetings and where other classes take place.
‘The rural pub is operating at a loss for much of the year in the provision of this community service with soaring costs and not much footfall through the doors,’ said Cllr McCarthy.
‘This motion is not about selling more drink or promoting alcohol in any way. I grew up in the pub trade and I totally appreciate the role pubs play in society. The pubs also didn’t benefit from the reduced vat rate of 9% unless they were serving food, which many don’t.’
He highlighted that the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) has also called for something similar to his motion, where they are looking for a 40% rebate on the excise charged to draught products sold in pubs.
‘We need to keep the remaining pubs open in order to keep to these communities alive and viable into the future.’
Cllr John Collins (Ind Ire) who is a publican in Bandon, supported the motion but said he wasn’t very confident it could be achieved.
‘I’ve been a member of VFI since 1988 and year in year out we’ve been approaching different ministers on this and it’s been a waste of time,’ he said.
‘There were 37 pubs when I came to Bandon first and it’s now down to 13, while Skibbereen is down to just five pubs and this is because of lack of support from different ministers down through the years.’
Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) said pubs are not just about alcohol, they are very much a ‘community and cultural space especially for music’, while Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) pointed out that a lot of work goes into promoting tourism, and that pubs are a vital part of that tourism brand.
‘Especially along the Wild Atlantic Way, we see promotional videos of people enjoying sing songs and music sessions in pubs. Rural pubs are struggling and they are a vital part of our economy.’
Figures from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland show that between 2005 and 2022, there was a loss of 365 pubs in Cork, down to 856 in 2022.
