Over a fifth of Irish pubs need up to 2,000 euro per week to meet costs while they have no income during lockdown.

That's the finding of a new Drinks Industry Group of Ireland report as it calls for a cut in excise tax in the Budget

This reports shows one in four publicans have seen their trade drop by over half compared to 2019.

60% say they'd struggle to find another job outside of the hospitality industry.

Half of them have already had to let staff go permanently as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and 15% of pub owners have accumulated over € 50,000 in debt due to Covid.

Over a fifth of pubs and have continuing costs of up to € 2,000 a week to pay while having no money coming in during lockdown.