More than 1 in 3 pubs (36%) across Dublin say they will reduce their headcounts due to the minimum wage increase introduced by the Government.
That’s according to a survey undertaken by the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA). A further 21% of pubs in the capital also say they will hire less new staff than previously planned due to the wage increase.
Almost half of all Dublin pubs (46%) believe they will be forced to increase their prices if the Government continues with their plans to significantly increase the minimum wage over the next few years.
96% of Dublin publicans believe the Government mandated changes to employment conditions, such as the planned increases to minimum wage, changes to sick pay and employers’ PRSI, as well as the pension auto-enrolment, represent “too much, too fast”.
94% of Dublin publicans want the Government to slow down the introduction of the “Living Wage”.
The survey also showed that almost 2 in 3 Dublin pubs (64%) received an increase in their insurance premium at their most recent renewal.
While 1 in 6 Dublin pubs (15%) say it is no longer profitable to open 7 days a week.
The survey also revealed that payments provided in Dublin pubs are increasingly by card rather than cash, with 8 out of 10 pubs (82%) in the capital saying they receive more card payments than cash.
Just 11 out of every 100 pubs in Dublin indicated they still receive more cash payments.
Over 350 pubs from across Dublin took part in the survey, approximately half the total number of pubs in the capital.
Speaking about the survey, LVA CEO Donall O’Keeffe said, “Hospitality businesses simply can’t cope with the increased cost of doing business that is being foisted on them by the Government. Over the last year there have been increases in VAT, sick pay, employers’ PRSI and minimum wage, with significant further increases to come. This simply isn’t sustainable and it should come as no surprise that so many hospitality businesses are closing in this environment.
“The Government’s own report, An Assessment of the Cumulative Impact of Proposed Measures to Improve Working Conditions in Ireland, showed that the combined increase of the Government measures mean a 36.7% cost increase on payroll by 2026. The report also acknowledges that the hospitality sector is facing serious difficulties in dealing with these significant and rapid cost rises. We’ve been saying the Government changes represent too much, too fast. With the significant numbers of hospitality closures, the reality on the ground and the Government’s own report clearly support that statement.
“That is why we are calling for the Government to slow things down. We understand the need for a living wage but we feel that it should be introduced by over a 5 year period from 2025 to 2029 and that the 2025 increase in minimum wage should be in line with inflation. Any more than that is going to end up being counter-productive to the State, with more hospitality businesses being forced to close and the jobs those businesses sustain being lost for good.
“The Government also needs to help the sector by making things more competitive and that means returning the VAT rate to 9% for food purchases and reducing the punitive excise rates on alcohol which remain at the highest levels in Europe ,” Mr. O’Keeffe concluded.
