Alcohol sales in pubs down by 5.3%

ALCOHOL sales have continued to slump more than a year after the introduction of the ban on smoking in the workplace, according to fresh figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Bar sales declined by 5.3% in April compared to a year ago and were down by 0.5% from March this year, the CSO’s latest retail sales data shows.

Though bar sales have declined, the figures are not as bad has had been expected by some publicans, who warned that pub sales would plunge by up to 25% after the smoking ban. Mandate, the union representing bar staff, said yesterday’s figures reflected a trend in falling sales recorded in the past four years.