Ireland's drinks industry writes off more than €60m in beer and food

In Dublin, each 'false start' has cost pubs up to €7 million in wasted beer stock

DIGI Chair Liam Reid said Dublin publicans, in particular, have been caught in the government’s "costly and unpredictable stop-start lockdown strategy."

More than €60 million worth of stock has been written off by drinks and hospitality businesses as a result of the Government’s ‘stop-start’ approach to reopening the sector so far, according to the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI).

This has primarily affected so-called 'wet pubs' who on three occasions were given potential opening dates that were changed at short notice. Each of these "false starts" has cost the industry up to €20 million in terms of beer and food stock, DIGI said.

In Dublin alone, each false start cost up to €7 million in wasted beer stock for Dublin pubs.

This is in addition to the investment businesses had made in preparing their premises for reopening including cleaning, PPE equipment and staff and wage costs, the group said.

“The short-notice nature of the Government’s three failed pledges to reopen the industry is crippling businesses who are incurring costs with no means of recouping them,” Liam Reid, Chair of Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) said.

“€60 million is only the tip of the iceberg while we risk a credit crisis in the industry where product is written off and credit terms are reviewed – a situation we need to avoid.” 

Mr Reid said Dublin publicans, in particular, have been caught in the government’s "costly and unpredictable stop-start lockdown strategy."

They could further financial strain "for the next period of weeks, or it could be months, we don’t know," he said. 

Mr Reid said current government policy is "an outlier" compared to other European countries: "Ireland is closing far more of our hospitality sector, and for far longer."

"If this approach is maintained, and we fail to explore other ways of living with Covid and operating our businesses, it will cause long-term and irreparable damage to the sector," he said.