Bar sales in Ireland fell 10% in the past year

Both the volume and value of sales through Irish bars and pubs last year fell by more than 9%

The bar sector saw the largest annual volume decline with sales down 9.9%.

Retail sales volumes fell 1.3% in the 12 months from March 2024 and were down 0.9% compared to February, with bar sales dropping 9.9% over the past year.

New data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that when the motor trade is excluded, the monthly volume of overall retail sales remained unchanged in March and increased by 1.4% over the year.