The figure represents more than one in every five jobs in the Dublin pub sector.
An average of 18 jobs per day are being lost in the Dublin pub sector and “at least” 2,450 jobs have been lost in Dublin pubs since they closed in March.
That’s according to figures released on Tuesday (28 July) by the LVA, the representative body for publicans in Dublin, with the number of jobs lost representing more than one in every five of the 12,000 jobs generated by the pub industry in the capital.
The figures also revealed that 10 Dublin pubs have ceased trading for good since the closure of pubs due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March, including The Queens in Dalkey, The Donaghmede Inn and The Cardiff Inn in Finglas.
In a statement, the LVA said it fears there are more job losses ahead, with almost one in three Dublin pubs yet to reopen and any pubs that do open operating at 50% capacity or less.
The LVA statement added that the figures emphasise the need for all pubs to re-open as scheduled on 10 August to counteract another blow to the industry and the loss of further jobs.
All pubs in Ireland had been scheduled to reopen earlier this month, before it was decided to delay Phase 4 of the reopening of society and business in Ireland until 10 August due to an increase in the number of cases of Covid-19.
Donall O’Keeffe, LVA Chief Executive, acknowledged that closing pubs in March was “for the good of the public health” and “continues to be the responsible course of action”, but also outlined the impact it has had on the pub sector in the capital.
“There is a lot of uncertainty in the sector about future business and employment prospects,” O’Keefe said.
“Almost one third of the pubs in Dublin are yet to reopen and their viability is further threatened every additional day they remain closed. Any business or employer would struggle if they had no income for 40% of a year, which is the situation facing pubs who will not open before 10 August.
“A further tangible sign of that struggle comes in the form of the 10 Dublin pubs who have ceased trading and decided to keep their doors closed for good. The loss of these businesses will be felt by the workers, the publicans involved and by their local communities. Sadly these are unlikely to be the last Dublin pubs to take such a step this year.”
O’Keefe added the situation has changed dramatically since this time last year, when pubs in Dublin struggled to find sufficient numbers of staff and said that a “significant” number of further redundancies should be expected should there be a further delay in the reopening of pubs.
“We expect there will be significant further redundancies should the public health situation require additional delays in the reopening of pubs,” O’Keefe added.
“As it is, even those pubs who are trading have had to let some workers go and/ or reduce the number of hours and level of salary provided to account for pub capacity being reduced to 50% or less of their pre-crisis levels. These problems are multiplied for pubs who are not in a situation to take in any income.
“This time last year, Dublin pubs were having difficulty finding sufficient staff, such were the number of jobs being created. How that picture has now changed. To what extent the employment outlook further darkens will depend on the trading situation and the public health prognosis in the weeks and months ahead.”
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