E2.50 pints should be outlawed, says FG TD

Cantona's Collars

Remember a few years ago when Northern shops were booming as the €1=£1 and we flocked across the border and literally filled cars with booze & flat screen tv's.
The TD's & their friends cried foul then and are at it again when somebody decides to charge reasonable prices for a pint.

BlatentCheek

Classic FG paternalism: prevent binge-drinking by making drink too expensive for the plebs to afford.

No doubt the Mary Mitchell O'Connors of this world will continue to be able to afford their champagne.

Of course the fact that both the cost of alcohol and consumption rates have fallen quite a bit in recent years is completely ignored when these shills go out tub-thumping for the VFI.

WhatNowForUs?

efb wrote: »

Ming andMick called her Miss piggy

I think you mean Shane Ross rather than Ming.

DeJa VooDoo

zerks wrote: »

Remember a few years ago when Northern shops were booming as the €1=£1 and we flocked across the border and literally filled cars with booze & flat screen tv's.
The TD's & their friends cried foul then and are at it again when somebody decides to charge reasonable prices for a pint.

The average price of a pint in Ireland is €4.67.
The government takes at least €1.50 of this.
You can see why they're panicking.

https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jar.ie%2Farticle%2Fthe-price-of-a-pint-in-ireland&ei=cy2pVODLLcP6Uvu0gaAL&usg=AFQjCNEj3ocFMVjc96sOpgcruQJ7Ze5l1g

matrim

DeJa VooDoo wrote: »

Half the TD's in the country are publicans FFS.

If a TD is also a publican should they have to abstain from voting on legalisation such as this because it will directly affect their business and business rivals.

DeJa VooDoo

matrim wrote: »

If a TD is also a publican should they have to abstain from voting on legalisation such as this because it will directly affect their business and business rivals.

Very true.
A serious conflict of interests there ok.

The Backwards Man

Dr Turk Turkelton wrote: »

I think the complete opposite in relation to opening hours.
Often on a Friday night (or any night) after a hard week at work and getting the kids to bed and during down with the missus for a while I'd feel like a pint but it could be 11o clock.
By the time I'd get ready and into a bar it's close to closing time so I don't bother paying for a taxi to fire 2/3 drinks down my throat while being told to leave and pay for a taxi home.
When we lived in New York I could pop up anytime to the bar and have a couple of drinks in comfort.
Also shift workers get a raw deal in relation to opening hours.
So all in all I'd like to see a relaxation in regards to opening hours and see a stricter policy in regards to very drunk people in bars.

I don't agree. Shift workers have to contend with banks, post offices, supermarkets etc. being closed when they are finished work so I don't get that argument at all.

Whether the pubs closed at 1am, 11pm or 2pm in the afternoon in the afternoon you'll always have the stragglers coming in for the last call. If they close that bit earlier though, you'll have more people in them, both due to the late callers being earlier, and more people going out because they know they will be home earlier and able to get up in the morning. Not to mention it's a lot easier to get a babysitter until midnight rather than who knows what time in the morning.

I've been in New York on the razzle, and a few other twenty four hour towns (twenty in the NY case), and I can tell you this, there's not too many pubs pulling up too many trees in it on a weeknight after eleven, so that kind of throws the whole shift work thing out the window

BlatentCheek

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I don't agree. Shift workers have to contend with banks, post offices, supermarkets etc. being closed when they are finished work so I don't get that argument at all.

The difference is that in those cases the businesses involved made the decision that it wasn't worth their while to open whereas in the case of licensed premises their hours are being limited by the state in a manner which disadvantages shift workers.

matrim

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I've been in New York on the razzle, and a few other twenty four hour towns (twenty in the NY case), and I can tell you this, there's not too many pubs pulling up too many trees in it on a weeknight after eleven, so that kind of throws the whole shift work thing out the window

So in those places most people / pubs follow a sensible approach without the law forcing them too while also allowing for people who want to be out on those nights late. That is a good argument for allowing pubs to pick their own hours

Dr Turk Turkelton

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I don't agree. Shift workers have to contend with banks, post offices, supermarkets etc. being closed when they are finished work so I don't get that argument at all.

Whether the pubs closed at 1am, 11pm or 2pm in the afternoon in the afternoon you'll always have the stragglers coming in for the last call. If they close that bit earlier though, you'll have more people in them, both due to the late callers being earlier, and more people going out because they know they will be home earlier and able to get up in the morning. Not to mention it's a lot easier to get a babysitter until midnight rather than who knows what time in the morning.

I've been in New York on the razzle, and a few other twenty four hour towns (twenty in the NY case), and I can tell you this, there's not too many pubs pulling up too many trees in it on a weeknight after eleven, so that kind of throws the whole shift work thing out the window

In regards supermarkets a lot of them now close very late or are open 24 hours.
In regards banks-you really know how to grind my gears!!!
They are a joke in this country even closing for lunch when people would get a chance to do some banking.
Not wanting to harp on about New York but they opened until 7 there and were open on a Saturday as well.

The Backwards Man

matrim wrote: »

So in those places most people / pubs follow a sensible approach without the law forcing them too while also allowing for people who want to be out on those nights late. That is a good argument for allowing pubs to pick their own hours

In those places people actually go home without being telt

mikemac1

Highflyer13 wrote: »

The cosy cartel is worried and using political influence now.

Last summer a proposal was made to raise 200 million euro in invest in mental health services and to assist to tackling suicide. Sounds a noble idea, who can object to that.

The money was to be raised by a levy on alcohol sales from off licences and shops. Pubs were to be exempt.

Who supported the bill? Senator Terry Leyden from Roscommon, publican

Possibly it was a decent idea but he wasn't supporting it for the right reasons

The Backwards Man

Dr Turk Turkelton wrote: »

In regards supermarkets a lot of them now close very late or are open 24 hours.
In regards banks-you really know how to grind my gears!!!
They are a joke in this country even closing for lunch when people would get a chance to do some banking.
Not wanting to harp on about New York but they opened until 7 there and were open on a Saturday as well.

NYC is 4am closing. Must have been a different type of place you were in

Richard Hillman

The likes of whetherspoons are designed against binge drinking. They have no Tv's or pool tables and All they want for you is to have a couple of pints, something to eat and feck off again.

The traditional pub is designed for spending the day there. For binge drinking.

Dr Turk Turkelton

The Backwards Man wrote: »

In those places people actually go home without being telt

Which might happen here as well if people weren't being forced home by archaic laws.
Anybody that's old enough to go to a bar is a long time out of short trousers and should be allowed make these decisions for themselves unless they are very obviously inebriated and the bar worker then makes the decision for them.

Specialun

I think its clear that this woman knows what she is talking about

Wetherspoons have come to ireland to trade at a loss, their calculator was fooked and somebody forgot to carry a 2

zl1whqvjs75cdy

How much are pints in the Dail bar?

Menas

Remember when publicans wanted a 15% levy on off licence sales to cover the loss from the proposed ban on sports advertising?

http://www.thejournal.ie/lid-levy-alcohol-sponsorship-sports-1013466-Jul2013/

Dr Turk Turkelton

The Backwards Man wrote: »

NYC is 4am closing. Must have been a different type of place you were in

I was talking about banks opening hours over there.
Also there was bars that you could get a late drink in and ironically enough they were Irish ones!!!

Flex

As others have pointed out, consumption levels in Ireland have dropped massively since the early 00's. We're now behind a lot of European countries and projected to continue the steep decline for the foreseeable future, to the point we'll be below average, so Im fed up with the lazy "You silly plebs with drown in drink if we didnt stop you" or "Shure we have a fierce unhealthy relationship with drink, the government/movies said so" argument used to justify this.

We were in a bar in the city centre last night for a birthday party where a pint was about €5.80 and a spirit and mixer was €6.80 (the €6.80 was a 'special offer' price too, would typically be €7.50, €2.50 of which is for a 200ml bottle of 7up/ginger ale/coke). Craft beers were just under €6 each for a 500ml bottle too. Voices were all hoarse from trying to shout over the music too. Have been to Wetherspoons, whose suppliers are charging them the same as other pubs, and, well Im sure everyone is aware of the price list. No deafening music is a huge plus too. If pubs want to charge the above prices thats fine, its their business, similarly Wetherspoons (or any other bar) should be allowed to charge reasonable prices if they want.

The present government has pushed drink prices in the off trade way up with their two recent excise increases and now want to do the same in the on trade. Its like Fine Gael are having a minor panic and trying to appeal to the social conservative and publican vote or something. While Im aware this is just a lone TD, Im becoming more and more disappointed with Fine Gael after what I thought was a relatively good performance up the last few months.

UCDVet

Am I the only one who finds this insulting? Are we really to believe the Irish public is so stupid, so unable to control themselves, that we literally drink until we run out of money?

'Those Irish drunks - they'll drink til they pass out or the money runs out. Only sane thing to do is raise the prices!'

Feck that.

If I want to get drunk, I'll get drunk. The insignificant difference in price isn't going to stop me. And the implication that it would is down right insulting.

bjork

€2.50 wouldn't get you a 7up in most places. Fair play to them if they're selling beer at this price

What next? A personal government appointed pub monitor in every pub watching you drink your limit of 1 x €10 pint :rolleyes:

Valetta

UCDVet wrote: »

Am I the only one who finds this insulting? Are we really to believe the Irish public is so stupid, so unable to control themselves, that we literally drink until we run out of money?

'Those Irish drunks - they'll drink til they pass out or the money runs out. Only sane thing to do is raise the prices!'

Feck that.

If I want to get drunk, I'll get drunk. The insignificant difference in price isn't going to stop me. And the implication that it would is down right insulting.

Why would you find it insulting when it obviously wasn't aimed at you?

eviltwin

I don't drink so the cost of booze doesn't impact me but this is ridiculous. I'm sick of the anti drinking bull from government. If they care so much about our health then ban cigarettes. There is no such thing as a healthy level of smoking. But they won't because it's nothing to do with health and all to do with revenue.

Highflyer13

bjork wrote: »

€2.50 wouldn't get you a 7up in most places. Fair play to them if they're selling beer at this price

What next? A personal government appointed pub monitor in every pub watching you drink your limit of 1 x €10 pint :rolleyes:

Minimum pricing before Wetherspoons expands further. They are planning a rapid expansion and actively seeking premises as we speak. Watch this space.

Geuze

Minimum-unit pricing would not affect pub prices, just off-sales prices.

johnnyskeleton

machiavellianme wrote: »

She's obviously the latest pawn for the cartel that is the vintners association.
If wetherspoons can sell for that price and still make a profit, how is it below cost?

Crucially, they are selling bottles of 8 degrees beer for 2.50. Those small companies simply cant afford to sell below heir production costs and, in any event, have plenty other outlets for their beer.

We are told time and time again that the high price of beer is due to high costs etc, especially for anything that carries the title "craft beer". Turns out that this is just not true or else wetherspoons simply would not get hold of 8 degrees beer and sell it for €2.50.

If she really wanted to stop binge drinking, how about refusing to let pubs that sell beer for €5/6 a pint have atms in the premises, or to give cash back at stupid o clock? Then people would run out of money and stop drinking, right?

anncoates

Ah yes:

"Deputy Mitchell O'Connor said this "welcome move accurately and strongly illustrates how below-cost selling is neither successful nor beneficial to the business community".

Cantona's Collars

Didn't JD's tell Heineken to feck off because they were selling it "too cheaply" and Heineken (vested interests) didn't like it?

As I said in another thread,the ones that the government seem so worried about either drink at home or frequent park benches in virtually every town in Ireland.You won't see them darken the door of a Wetherspoons or any other pub for that matter.The problem drinkers in my town are barred from every pub and are to be seen huddled around drinking cheap lager and cider that anyone with taste buds wouldn't use to clean their toilets with.

bjork

zerks wrote: »

Didn't JD's tell Heineken to feck off because they were selling it "too cheaply" and Heineken (vested interests) didn't like it?

As I said in another thread,the ones that the government seem so worried about either drink at home or frequent park benches in virtually every town in Ireland.You won't see them darken the door of a Wetherspoons or any other pub for that matter.The problem drinkers in my town are barred from every pub and are to be seen huddled around drinking cheap lager and cider that anyone with taste buds wouldn't use to clean their toilets with.

There's only one solution I can see to this problem. Remove all park benches and close down parks.

Grayson

Cienciano wrote: »

Ah the poor pubs. Ireland never had a problem with alcohol when it was the pub owners deciding the prices and who got alcohol. I've never seen an alcoholic do into a pub.

And restaurants aren't really affected by it. In fact a resteraunt buys a bottle for a fiver and jacks the price up to 20. They stick it in the middle of the menu because people are more likely to buy the middle priced item in the middle of the menu.

Pubs on the other hand don't have that option. We go there primarily to drink. The drink isn't secondary to the food.

The vintners have had their cartel for far too long. I'd actually like to see more deregulation. Allow more pubs. Allow cafe bars.

UCDVet

Valetta wrote: »

Why would you find it insulting when it obviously wasn't aimed at you?

How can you say it wasn't aimed at me?

Anyone who drinks from pubs, at all, will be affected by government mandated prices changes. I go to pubs. So, this is clearly aimed at me.

It won't be EFFECTIVE at preventing me from getting drunk. Because I, as an adult, decide how much to drink. The markup the government is discussing will not limit my drinking; but it will negatively affect me.

shruikan2553

It would be easier to take the government seriously about alcohol if they didnt have a subsidised bar.

Grayson

Dr Turk Turkelton wrote: »

Which might happen here as well if people weren't being forced home by archaic laws.
Anybody that's old enough to go to a bar is a long time out of short trousers and should be allowed make these decisions for themselves unless they are very obviously inebriated and the bar worker then makes the decision for them.

Binge drinking is defined as more than twice your daily allowance of alcohol. So 3-4 pints is binge drinking. A bottle of wine is binge drinking. That's over a whole night.

Why isn't she bringing in legislation to stop people from selling more than 3 pints to a person in a night? A little breathalyser at the bar could be used.

Grayson

Flex wrote: »

We were in a bar in the city centre last night for a birthday party where a pint was about €5.80 and a spirit and mixer was €6.80 (the €6.80 was a 'special offer' price too, would typically be €7.50, €2.50 of which is for a 200ml bottle of 7up/ginger ale/coke). Craft beers were just under €6 each for a 500ml bottle too. Voices were all hoarse from trying to shout over the music too. Have been to Wetherspoons, whose suppliers are charging them the same as other pubs, and, well Im sure everyone is aware of the price list. No deafening music is a huge plus too. If pubs want to charge the above prices thats fine, its their business, similarly Wetherspoons (or any other bar) should be allowed to charge reasonable prices if they want.

Because as I'm sure you're aware if people can't talk, they drink more.

Cienciano

Grayson wrote: »

The vintners have had their cartel for far too long. I'd actually like to see more deregulation. Allow more pubs. Allow cafe bars.

The vintners were against McDowells cafe bar idea. Completely shot down. They were also against the smoking ban and were against any drop in the drink driving limit :rolleyes:
It's no wonder people don't like them.

You know it's funny, a few times over the years a thread on AH would pop up about what you want in a pub. some of the most common things are no tv, better selection of beer and lower prices. It's almost like the most successful chain of pubs in the UK are actually giving the people what they want instead of what the LVA do and tell us what we should want.

johnnyskeleton

BlatentCheek wrote: »

The difference is that in those cases the businesses involved made the decision that it wasn't worth their while to open whereas in the case of licensed premises their hours are being limited by the state in a manner which disadvantages shift workers.

Im surprised SF arent all over this in opposition. A law which was originally brought in by the British to stop munitions workers getting too drunk to make the shells in the morning. Great way to stir anti FG sentiment by comparing them to the old enemy and trying to make good little workers of us rather than genuinely caring about our health

Capt'n Midnight

DeJa VooDoo wrote: »

The average price of a pint in Ireland is €4.67.
The government takes at least €1.50 of this.
You can see why they're panicking.

Breakdown
95c of that is VAT which the government would probably have got anyway unless you bought food or invested in pensions.

only 55c is excise, exactly the same as if you bought in a supermarket


€1.70 for for Diageo :eek:
Aldi are selling can's for €1 a pint , including 50c excise and 17c VAT, the cost of transport from abroad and the can itself, and they are making a profit too because it's not on special.

It's left as an exercise for the reader to figure out how much the contents of the can cost to make, Diageo's production costs will be similar.

If the publican's had tried to get a better price from Diageo rather than gouging the punter you'd have some respect for them. Don't forget too that every time the publicans ask for a tax reduction you'd end up paying up for the tax shortfall via tax increases on other things so indirect gouging.


Minimum price is just corporate welfare.

Cienciano

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Im surprised SF arent all over this in opposition. A law which was originally brought in by the British to stop munitions workers getting too drunk to make the shells in the morning. Great way to stir anti FG sentiment by comparing them to the old enemy and trying to make good little workers of us rather than genuinely caring about our health

Seems the pub lobby is too powerful for anyone to criticise.

hatrickpatrick

Protectionism pure and simple. The government couldn't give a rat's ass about public health, if they did they wouldn't allow the abomination that is the HSE to keep gambling with it.

Cathy.C

zerks wrote: »

the ones that the government seem so worried about either drink at home or frequent park benches in virtually every town in Ireland.You won't see them darken the door of a Wetherspoons or any other pub for that matter.

Well, in fairness one section of society which the Government say these measures are being brought in order to protect are teenagers and they most certainly will go where the drink is the cheapest.

Just a few weeks back for example, I witnessed the largest queue outside a pub that I had ever seen in Dublin. Was on Harcourt St on Tuesday or Wednesday night, it was seven or eight deep and ran down as far as Stephen's Green and even around the corner almost as far as Wexford St. You'd swear a concert was taking place but turned out that Dicey Reillys had arranged a night of drinks for just €2, no doubt advertised on Facebook.

Not saying there is anything wrong with that, in fact I am in favour of it to a certain degree as those kids would have just have drank in their friend's homes, or on the bus in, or (as I see happening a lot these days) necking back spirits in the queues around midnight for the nightclub which I suspect they might not even buy a single drink in.

It's not an easy call though, as it's quite sinister to target teens with these cheap drink promotions, or such as the the offer of free shots which almost all young folk get these days from the shiny jacket arm stamping numpties that roam the Fleet St area but they will source cheap drinks some way and so perhaps it's best they do so in the warmth of a club than on the streets.

Grayson

Cienciano wrote: »

The vintners were against McDowells cafe bar idea. Completely shot down. They were also against the smoking ban and were against any drop in the drink driving limit :rolleyes:
It's no wonder people don't like them.

You know it's funny, a few times over the years a thread on AH would pop up about what you want in a pub. some of the most common things are no tv, better selection of beer and lower prices. It's almost like the most successful chain of pubs in the UK are actually giving the people what they want instead of what the LVA do and tell us what we should want.

The local where I work in Blanch was a niceish pub. Good for a pint with a mate on the way home. Then it opened an off license. Then it started putting TV's everywhere. The TV's had near constant gambling information on them. Now it's opened a betting shop onsite as well. Pretty soon it'll probably pop in a few slot machines.
The food has gotten worse. Cheap much slathered in hot sauce. They also increased the prices.

It's obvious that they are just milking as much as they can from punters. The problem is that there's very few pubs there. It's still one of the "better" ones.

johnnyskeleton

Cienciano wrote: »

Seems the pub lobby is too powerful for anyone to criticise.

I doubt many pubs would object to later opening hours or, in particular, not having to pay extra for a late licence or get a special exemption. Many pubs will still do a lock in so would be only too happy if they could stay late whenever they wanted without extra cost or an advance application to court.

Muahahaha

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Im surprised SF arent all over this in opposition. A law which was originally brought in by the British to stop munitions workers getting too drunk to make the shells in the morning. Great way to stir anti FG sentiment by comparing them to the old enemy and trying to make good little workers of us rather than genuinely caring about our health

Whatever about the FG-Shinner angle I'm just surprised no opposition TD ever comes out to challenge the publicans when other TDs like Mitchell-O'Connor comes out with statements like this which reveal her to clearly be in the pockets of the Vintners. Like it would be riduculously easy for an opposition TD to get on the radio waves tomorrow morning and argue sensibly that-

-According to pffical stats Irish people are now drinking 12% less than they were in 2002
-Irish drink prices are amongst the highest in the EU and Irish exise duties are in that zone too, with a bottle of wine costing double here what it does in most EU nations
-Binge drinking is a cultural problem which cannot be solved by price alone, investment in awareness and education is the way to solve it
-Weathspoons are not selling at below cost, they are here to make a profit and if they can make a profit at €2.50 then it is clear other publicans are making massive profits at €4.00 a pint, up to €6 in the city center

And that old chestnut of Fine Gael 'Jobs, jobs.jobs'

-Mary Mitchell O'Connor and her statement is putting in jeopardy the hundreds of jobs that Weatherspoons are bringing to Ireland in a time of high unemployment. Weatherspoons have committed to opening 50 pub across Ireland and intend to employ more than 1,000 people. Yet here we have a member of Fine Gael making announcements that put those jobs in jeopardy.

That's all an opposition TD has to do in the morning and people will wake up a bit and see this Mary Mitchell O'Connor statement for what it is, a ruse on behalf of the publicans. But will it happen? I won't be holding my breath :rolleyes:

Galwayguy35

The VFI didn't seem that bothered about peoples health when their car parks were full of people driving home, people got sick of paying way over what they should and changed to buying at the supermarket and having a few drinks with friends at home and Mr Greedy Publician doesn't like that.

People of Dublin vote this busybody out in 2016, not one of our brighter exports from Galway

PLL

Much like the Wetherspoons in England, I'd say the cheap prices will attract a cheap crowd too.
When the one opens in Cork it will be a rough spot. Nothing against the people of Cork, I love the place, but their strict entry policy is there for a reason.

After living in England I wouldn't set foot in one of these pubs, not even for cheap prices. I hope they do force prices here to reduce slightly as they are ridiculous, but I would still rather pay a bit more and socialise in a friendly Irish pub than a generic franchise.

Highflyer13

Muahahaha wrote: »

Whatever about the FG-Shinner angle I'm just surprised no opposition TD ever comes out to challenge the publicans when other TDs like Mitchell-O'Connor comes out with statements like this which reveal her to clearly be in the pockets of the Vintners. Like it would be riduculously easy for an opposition TD to get on the radio waves tomorrow morning and argue sensibly that-

-According to pffical stats Irish people are now drinking 12% less than they were in 2002
-Irish drink prices are amongst the highest in the EU and Irish exise duties are in that zone too, with a bottle of wine costing double here what it does in most EU nations
-Binge drinking is a cultural problem which cannot be solved by price alone, investment in awareness and education is the way to solve it
-Weathspoons are not selling at below cost, they are here to make a profit and if they can make a profit at €2.50 then it is clear other publicans are making massive profits at €4.00 a pint, up to €6 in the city center

And that old chestnut of Fine Gael 'Jobs, jobs.jobs'

-Mary Mitchell O'Connor and her statement is putting in jeopardy the hundreds of jobs that Weatherspoons are bringing to Ireland in a time of high unemployment. Weatherspoons have committed to opening 50 pub across Ireland and intend to employ more than 1,000 people. Yet here we have a member of Fine Gael making announcements that put those jobs in jeopardy.

That's all an opposition TD has to do in the morning and people will wake up a bit and see this Mary Mitchell O'Connor statement for what it is, a ruse on behalf of the publicans. But will it happen? I won't be holding my breath :rolleyes:

People are seeing right through this government. They are all about protecting their friends and letting wider society suffer apart from the odd token effort in the media here and there. FG are doomed imo and rightly so.

Idbatterim

Citing the refusal of brewing giant Heineken to allow Wetherspoon to sell pints of its lager for less than €3 here, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor said this "welcome move accurately and strongly illustrates how below-cost selling is neither successful nor beneficial to the business community".

I am not sure I would be taking business advice from you deputy Mitchell, spoons operate over 950 pubs in the uk and Ireland... I am not saying they are selling below cost, but I wouldnt trust her to run a corner shop!

She will be delighted to hear that the weatherspoons are selling pints in Dun Laoghaire from €1.95 tomorrow... I was out there a few days ago, they had three bouncers and it was very civilised, no roaring, you dont need to as there is no music blaring or endless sport most dont have an interest in to shout over!

Binge drinking is defined by 3-4 pints in one sitting. Clearly €5 pints doesn't stop that. €5 pints is so expensive though, but I pay it when I go out at the weekend in Dublin as the places I like unfortunately charge it. As a result of this however, you wouldn't find me in a pub between Monday - Thursday for casual drink as it is too much to pay for a casual midweek drink. If I knew a pub had €3 pints I would actually head in to relax and break up the week with a friend or a few friends. Instead I would have a couple of bottles of beer 1-2 of the midweek nights at home. My point on this pub-pricing is that it does barely anything to influence how much I drink.

yeah that is the exact same situation as me and most of my mates. Even the guys who dont drink much were out in spoons the other day and if anything they would now be more likely to go out for a few as you are not being and robbed and can actually chat...

You know when spoons opened here in Blackrock and I saw their drink prices for the first time here on boards, I said those prices are not cheap enough to drive people into the place, a few weeks or months later they dropped prices significantly to get people in the door in numbers. They are here a wet week, how have the VFI and publicans not worked that out after several decades?

Cienciano

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

I doubt many pubs would object to later opening hours or, in particular, not having to pay extra for a late licence or get a special exemption. Many pubs will still do a lock in so would be only too happy if they could stay late whenever they wanted without extra cost or an advance application to court.

You're wrong there, the main thing the publicans care about is the publics health :pac:

The opening hours are some sort of joke. Saw a woman in Aldi buying sunday dinner which included a bottle of wine. They couldn't sell it to her because it was 12:15 pm, she had to wait 15 minutes.

Menas

PLL wrote: »

Much like the Wetherspoons in England, I'd say the cheap prices will attract a cheap crowd too.
When the one opens in Cork it will be a rough spot. Nothing against the people of Cork, I love the place, but their strict entry policy is there for a reason.

After living in England I wouldn't set foot in one of these pubs, not even for cheap prices. I hope they do force prices here to reduce slightly as they are ridiculous, but I would still rather pay a bit more and socialise in a friendly Irish pub than a generic franchise.

I was in the blackrock Weatherspoons last night, very nice crowd of all ages and a great atmosphere. No music and no TV and a great selection of beers.
Much much better than my local pub which seems to smell of bacon and cabbage all the time and charges €5+ for a pint.

I would not knock the Irish Weatherspoons until you have actually tried one...its a bit small minded IMO.