Claims regulations are hurting pub music trade

TIME is being called on musicians and bands servicing the pub trade.

Ever-increasing regulations on the industry, especially the drink driving laws, are impacting on musicians and bands providing entertainment in pubs.

This was claimed yesterday by veteran band leader Mike Fitzgerald who said 17 pubs in which his band had performed had closed in recent years.

“Eleven of these places have been sold and are gone completely. The others just gave up the music because they weren’t getting in enough customers to pay for it,” he said.

Mr Fitzgerald, whose band, Southern Pride, has played at numerous venues throughout Cork, Kerry and Limerick, over the past 37 years, said their gigs had been reduced by a third. “Twenty years ago, some towns had music in pubs seven nights a week, but now they’d be doing well to have music one, or two, nights at weekends,” he said.

Mr Fitzgerald, from Knocknagree, Co Cork, said the introduction of random breath testing had accelerated the downward spiral for pubs.

“Traditionally, Sunday night had been a great social night but that’s finished now and places are virtually deserted,” he said. “People are afraid to have a few drinks on a Sunday night because they fear they could fail a random breath test if they’re stopped on their way to work on Monday morning. At the way things are going, bands will find themselves with nothing at all to do on Sunday nights.

“The big decline in pubs started with the smoking ban and then came the law banning children in pubs after 9pm. One time, we’d have couples with children coming in for a bit of entertainment, but we don’t see that any more,” he said.

Mr Fitzgerald also claimed the decision to extend nightclub opening to 3am was another nail in the coffin for pubs.

“Taxi drivers tell me they now pick up people at around 12 midnight, or 12.30am, who would have been drinking at home and drive them straight to a nightclub. At one time, such people would have gone to pubs,” he told Radio Kerry.

“I believe it would be better if nightclubs and late night pubs closed at 1.30am. If that was the case, people would go out earlier and might call to bars.” He said he could understand the views of councillors in Kerry who, earlier this week, called on Transport Minister Noel Dempsey not to further reduce the blood/alcohol limit.

Fianna Fáil councillor Michael O’Shea, a publican in Milltown, Co Kerry, said such a reduction would add to rural isolation.

“People already feel criminalised and confined by the State to their own homes because they could be caught and penalised for driving after drinking one pint,” he said.