MOST people won’t believe this – and if you were to go on physical appearance you would probably believe I was fond of the odd pint or two – but I am a non-drinker – always have been. But that is not to say that I don’t have a good understanding of the drinks industry. I believe I do.
In fact, for more than 20 years, I worked in the business. But that was during a time when most of the alcohol in this country was bought in pubs or hotels. Today, however, an inordinate amount of the stuff is purchased in supermarkets for consumption in the home. So when all the hullabaloo started over Arthur’s Day, I must confess, I was taken off guard.
Yes, there is a problem with over-consumption of alcohol and all of its side effects, but can you blame pubs or events such as Arthur’s Day? I don’t believe so.
Look at what has happened over the past few weeks. There were a number of stabbings in houses where alcohol was being consumed. Ask any garda and he or she will tell you the number of callouts to domestic disturbances as a result of alcohol abuse is huge. Ask anyone involved in the drinks industry and they will tell you the majority of people going out to socialise start the night’s proceedings in a house where alcohol is consumed. When most of the punters get to the pubs and nightclubs they are already well oiled and up for action.
Critics will say ‘who can blame people for that’. The cost of buying in a pub far exceeds the cost of purchasing in an off-licence or a supermarket. But no-one talks about the hefty taxes these industries have to pay and the high cost of wages and all the other overheads they have to absorb.
Once upon a time, the licensed trade was very profitable, but for those with millions invested in the industry, that day is over.
If you talk to most of the family-owned pubs in this country – and the majority are still family-owned – they will all say that if you add the number of hours they have to work and the money they get for their efforts, their pay would roughly amount to the minimum wage.
Critics always refer to a weekend night when they say the pubs are packed, giving the illusion the publican is raking in a fortune. But on most days and nights of the week, pubs all over this country are empty. And even when they are busy, they only have a window of one or two hours to try to take as much over the counter as they can to cover their expenses for all the times they will be staring at the four walls.
I suppose statistics are great to go by, and on Friday the airwaves were full of them, proving that our A&Es were not over-run with people requiring their stomachs to be pumped as a result of Arthur’s Day. In fact, the day after an All-Ireland final produces more activity.
Should we ban the All-Ireland? Certainly not? Should we ban Arthur’s Day? Certainly not.
