Budget 2025 is a 'disaster' for the pub sector - VFI

Eva Osborne

The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) has said Budget 2025 is a "disaster" for the pub sector, with no reduction in VAT or excise duty announced for the sector.

The VFI said this is despite calls for support from publicans across the country.

The trade association of publicans in Ireland said the measures announced on Tuesday fall "disastrously short" of what is needed to protect a "sector on the brink".

Minor supports proposed by the Government are "largely irrelevant" to the core issue facing publicans, which is the rising costs of business, the VFI said.

The VFI is sounding the alarm that these "insufficient measures" will push many pubs to the breaking point.

VFI chief executive, Pat Crotty, said: "The Budget is a disaster for our sector. We have been clear with the Government about the immense pressure pubs are under, yet they have failed to deliver any meaningful support.

"Every minister and TD fully understands this Budget will lead to closures for a huge number of businesses across the county. The Government’s own report from earlier this year accepts that many of the policies introduced to improve working conditions will increase operating costs for businesses.

“For pubs to survive our members needed to hear that VAT would be lowered to nine per cent along with a reduction in excise duty. What’s worse, the minor supports Government is offering are nearly useless when you consider the soaring cost of doing business. Pubs are already closing their doors, and this Budget will accelerate that trend."

The VFI warns that without more targeted financial interventions, many more pubs will not survive the coming months.

“We were consistent in our communications that grants are not the answer. Publicans need proper, sustainable support mechanisms—policies that will allow us to look ahead with confidence rather than lurch from crisis to crisis," Crotty said.

"We don’t want more short-term grants. One-off supports are a band-aid; they don’t solve the underlying problems, a fact acknowledged just last week by the Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke."

"The Government has missed a crucial opportunity to support Ireland’s pub industry. Heading into a General Election we need real, impactful measures now, or we risk losing an essential part of our community fabric. How many pubs will be forced to close before Government intervenes?"