Tax Credits Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-25 ============================================================ Eileen Lynch (FG), Agricultural Panel Yes. It is a big weekend ahead. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I am raising the matter of the introduction of budget measures to prevent the closure of rural pubs. It is very similar to the matter that was just raised by my colleague Senator Kennelly, which was directed at the Minister for enterprise, whereas this is directed at the Minister for Finance. Senator Kennelly has raised the idea and now I am looking for the funding. The Minister of State is well aware of these issues within his own constituency. It is an issue not just across all of rural Ireland but also increasingly in our towns and cities. Since 2005, more than 2,200 pubs have closed across Ireland. That is a decline of 25% in the total number of licensed premises nationally. It is an incredibly stark statistic. Even more concerning than that is that the rate of closure is actually accelerating. The average annual rate of closure now stands at 128 pubs per year. Recent survey findings from the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland, VFI, show that 65% of publicans believe rising business costs are having an unsustainable impact on operations. Forty-one percent of them say trading conditions are worse than what they were 12 months ago and almost 42% lack confidence in the future of their business. Twenty-two percent of pubs report reduced staffing levels over the past year as they struggled to absorb rising costs. The pub is at the heart of community life in many of our villages across the country. It is a key part of our national identity. It is a social spot. It is a local employer. Pubs are part of the social fabric of rural Ireland. It is a cultural thing for us and when a pub closes, a community loses far more than just a business. In my own area of rural mid-Cork in Cork North-West, my local pub has been closed since March. We have seen the impact that has had within the community. We are hopeful it will open again. This is a pub in a village called Bealnamorive. There is a school and a church; that is it. We do not have a community hall. We do not have anywhere else within that area where people can gather. The pub was a fantastic social outlet. A neighbouring village, Rylane, has not had a pub since 2016 and in my other neighbouring village of Aghabullogue, the pub is open four nights per week. That one pub that is open four nights per week provides a serious social outlet for many people who are living on their own in the area. It helps a lot with rural isolation and we have to acknowledge that important role of the pub. It is important to say that our drinking habits as a nation have changed and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Therefore, there is less of a market there for pubs. That is why we also need to encourage pubs to diversify. I welcome the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan's night-time economy grant that was announced recently. I am aware of pubs in my vicinity that are taking advantage of that and it is a way of diversifying your business. A lot of businesses are starting to do more trade in terms of book clubs, tea and coffee evenings and these kinds of thing, so there are measures like that that pubs need to look at. We need to encourage them. I also want to acknowledge the important step that was the 9% VAT reduction, but that only helps pubs that are serving food. It does not help these "wet pubs" - I hate that phrase. Two thirds of pubs do not actually serve food, so they will not benefit even though they make up the vast majority of pubs across our towns and villages. That is why VFI has proposed a practical and targeted solution. Senator Kennelly has spoken about it already this morning but I am asking that the finance be found for it in the upcoming budget. The proposal is very straightforward. It would provide a tax credit to pubs based on verified purchases of draught products, with supports capped at €20,000 per premises per annum. Credit could be offset against tax liabilities or paid where liabilities are insufficient. Importantly, it is specifically designed to support smaller pubs and help to protect the viability of businesses that are under the greatest pressure. As part of the reply Senator Kennelly received, the Minister of State raised the point as to whether this measure would be compliant with the EU alcohol structures directive, which does not allow a reduction, rebate or offset to excise duty. If that is a concern, I would like to confirm that the proposal is compliant with it. It is a targeted business credit, similar to schemes we have seen introduced in other sectors such as film, television, unscripted television and gaming. I urge the Government to consider this matter ahead of the budget. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-25/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:07+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-25