HALF of Irish bars are close to calling last orders, a sobering new report has disclosed.
A shock study of the bar trade by research body Vision-Net showed that a huge number of boozers were at risk of being forced to shut.
And the probe into hospitality services also showed that a similar proportion of restaurants and hotels were at high risk of having to close down.
The worrying findings of the investigation into the trading viability of businesses in the hospitality sector were blamed by Vision-Net on the continuing economic crisis.
Christine Cullen, Managing Director of the credit risk analyst firm, said: “Pubs and restaurants have been hit hard by the recession.”
Stress-tests at 945 pubs discovered owners and managers at 49 per cent felt they were in danger of collapse.
Vision-net also claimed: “The survey found that 190 pubs, or 20 per cent of those sampled, were at medium risk of failure while 296, or 31 per cent, were deemed low risk,” The overall number of bars in the country has plummeted by over 1,000 from a high of 8,600 in 2005 at the height of the Celtic Tiger.
