Thousands of pubs are expected to opt out of the millennium celebrations by remaining closed this evening.
Many publicans have decided to close for the night because of high pay demands by bar staff. The problem is greatest in urban areas, with fewer than one in five licensed premises in Dublin expected to be open at midnight. One in three pubs in the greater Dublin area is not expected to open at all today. Half the pubs will open, but close at 6 p.m. Only 18 per cent are expected to continue serving until 1.30 a.m. on New Year's Day.
The Vintners' Federation of Ireland estimates that up to 70 per cent of pubs in Cork city and 90 per cent of pubs in Limerick city will be closed tonight.
VFI's president, Mr John Mansworth, said there was a very mixed picture emerging around the State, but the urban/rural divide was very apparent.
"For example, the indications we are getting are that in the city area of Cork city between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of pubs will close, but just 10 per cent of pubs in rural areas of Cork will close," he said. "Overall, between the cities, towns and country areas I reckon about 30 per cent of the 10,000 licensed premises outside Dublin will close." In Waterford city, Mr Mans worth said indications were that many pubs would close their doors and only allow regulars in.
In contrast, all pubs in rural Co Galway would be open today, former VFI president Mr Paul O'Grady said. In Galway city, he predicted a maximum of 15 per cent of premises would be shut for the celebrations. Almost all pubs in Co Mayo would also be open, he added.
Mr Mansworth urged publicans across the State to open tonight. "We have been urging the Minister for many years to extend opening hours on such occasions and now that our demands are met we find people who are not going to open," Mr Mansworth said.
Despite the negative indications, the VFI president was confident that many would, in fact, open for business. "I think that some guys may change their mind at six or seven o'clock when they are told that if they ask their regular customers to leave that they may not be back tomorrow." The problems of pub closures were almost non-existent in rural areas because the majority of licensed premises were family-run and so did not have exorbitant pay demands. Rural publicans were also under greater pressure to meet the demands of their customers, Mr Mansworth believed.
The problems had been created by the millennium celebrations being over-hyped from earlier in the year. As a result, the public believed they would either not be able to get into pubs, or if they did, they would be ripped off, he said.
Mr Mansworth said the cover charges being imposed by pubs ranged from £25 to £60, but included food and drink. Many of those seeking to charge exorbitant prices had been stung by the public backlash. He was aware of one publican who had sought to charge £20 just to get into his pub, and had only sold 12 tickets.
While the VFI president did not encourage his members to impose cover charges for the night, Mr O'Grady defended the policy. Pubs in Galway which were charging tonight were providing security and many were also providing food for their customers.
The cover-charge policy enabled publicans to control the number of people in their premises, and also provided a means of refusing access to people they feared may cause trouble, he said.