Tap & Pass

The Record

What the records say about Irish pubs and restaurants.

Every number on this page comes from an official release or a published industry count, with the source beside it. We add a line the day a new series is published. Last checked 21 October 2026.

2,205

pubs closed 2005–2025 (−25.6%, to 6,412 licences)

DIGI / A. Foley, Sep 2026
86

pubs closed in 2025 (65 in 2024, 117 in 2023)

DIGI / A. Foley, Sep 2026
−1.1%

Dublin's pub count since 2005, the smallest fall of any county

DIGI / A. Foley, Sep 2026
83

nightclubs left in Ireland, from 522 in 2000

Give Us The Night, via Irish Examiner, 19 Sep 2026
30,651

Special Exemption Orders granted in 2025 (93,247 in 2005)

Irish Examiner, 19 Sep 2026
€205

cost of one late night: €150 court fee + €55 excise, before a solicitor

Irish Examiner, 19 Sep 2026
€10.4bn

Irish out-of-home food and drink market, 2025 (+5%); +5% forecast for 2026

Bord Bia, Nov 2025
+26%

menu prices against 2020; footfall broadly flat

Bord Bia, Nov 2025
612

food-led closures in the year after VAT returned to 13.5% (Sep 2023–Sep 2024)

RAI, via Hospitality Ireland
9%

VAT on food served, restored 1 July 2026; 23% on alcoholic drinks

RAI; Revenue
2,839,300

people in employment, Q2 2026 (+0.8%); unemployment 5.1%

CSO Labour Force Survey, 20 Aug 2026
€14.94

minimum wage from 1 January 2027 (€14.15 in 2026)

Budget 2027
€600

employer PRSI higher-rate line for 2027 (€552 in 2026)

Budget 2027
€15m

Budget 2027 fund for rural pubs; scheme details to follow

Irish Examiner, 6 Oct 2026
+4.1%

CPI, year to September 2026; restaurants and hotels +3.5%

CSO CPI, Sep 2026
€1bn+

Irish whiskey exports in 2024, across 113 markets

Irish Whiskey Association, Mar 2025
No. 98

Bar 1661, Dublin, on The World's 50 Best Bars 51–100 list, the first Irish entry

The 50 Best, 23 Sep 2026

Pubs: twenty years of closures

All 26 counties lost pubs between 2005 and 2025. Dublin barely moved; Limerick lost more than a third.

Pub licences lost by county, 2005 to 2025Percentage fall in publican licences by county; Limerick worst at 37.2%, Dublin least at 1.1%.Limerick−37.2%Offaly−34.1%Cork−32.7%Roscommon−32.3%Tipperary−32.0%Laois−30.6%Longford−30.1%Westmeath−30.0%State−25.6%Meath−11.4%Wicklow−9.5%Dublin−1.1%
Fall in publican licences 2005–2025. Source: DIGI report by Anthony Foley, DCU, 1 September 2026.
Pub closures per yearPubs closed: 117 in 2023, 65 in 2024, 86 in 2025; the twenty-year average is about 110 a year.202311720246520258620-yr average110
Pub closures by year. Source: DIGI / Anthony Foley, September 2026.

Read the records piece

The night-time economy

The State's only count of late nights is the number of Special Exemption Orders the District Courts grant. It is a third of what it was in 2005.

Late nights granted (Special Exemption Orders)SEOs fell from 93,247 in 2005 to 30,651 in 2025.200593247201837597202431601202530651
Special Exemption Orders granted per year. Source: Give Us The Night figures reported by the Irish Examiner, 19 September 2026.
Nightclubs in Ireland522 nightclubs in 2000, 83 in 2025.2000522202583
Source: Give Us The Night 2025 report, via Irish Examiner.

Follow late licensing

Pay

National minimum wage per hour€14.15 in 2026, €14.94 from 1 January 2027.2026€14.152027€14.94
Source: Budget 2027, Citizens Information.

The PRSI checker and Budget 2027 piece turn these into a weekly cost per employee.

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