Industry in crisis - Impact of pub closures is significant

FAR too many Irish lives and families have been ruined by drink. Far too much talent has been squandered, far too many fortunes wasted. Far too many relationships or businesses have been destroyed too because of the malignant influence of alcohol.

Though one tragedy is no more heartbreaking than another the number of lives lost on our roads because of drunk drivers may be amongst the most harrowing. Though it is no longer socially acceptable to drink and drive the death toll suggests we still have some way to go on this issue. However, it must be acknowledged that considerable progress has been made in this area, especially amongst younger people.

Despite those truths the vast majority of Irish people have enjoyed a positive relationship with drink. Many of us made — and sustain — lifelong friendships in pubs. Many more of us met our wife or our husband in one of the tens of thousands of pubs that punctuate and animate communities right across this country.