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29/03/2005
Smoking Ban Anniversary – Ban Proves Negative for Pub Trade, but Publicans Fight Back
Noting the first anniversary of the introduction of the smoking ban (29 March, 2004), the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA), which represents 95% of Dublin publicans, confirmed today that the business impact of the ban over the past twelve months has been a negative one for the Irish pub trade.
Commenting, Donall O’Keeffe, LVA Chief Executive said: “The ban has gone very well from a compliance point of view. This is primarily down to publicans and critically, our smoking customers who continue to uphold the law of the land. Unfortunately, we were correct in our predictions of the negative business impact of the ban on the pub trade – predictions made on the back of an independent economic study which has regrettably proved to be accurate.
Continuing, “As we had feared, the draught beer market has decreased by 9% in 2004 on a national basis and by a significant 13% in the Dublin pub trade. The impact of this has meant that approximately 2,000 full and part-time jobs have been lost in the Dublin pub trade over the past year. Clearly, all pronouncements by the former Minister for Health and bodies such as the Office of Tobacco Control that the ban would increase publicans’ business were totally inaccurate.
He added: “While the smoking ban is not the only factor responsible for the decline in pub sales, it is without a doubt, the main contributing factor. The rate of decline which begun to emerge in 2000, has tripled from 3% to 9% in the space of one year – the year the smoking ban was introduced.”
Concluding, he said: “We recognise that the smoking ban is here to stay. Cognisant of this, Dublin publicans are working harder to ensure that the Dublin pub and its unique atmosphere continues to be enjoyable for all our customers. This includes making significant investment in the provision of smoking facilities where possible, noting that the pub remains a very important element of the social fabric of Dublin.”
www.lva.ie
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