Hundreds of hospitality, tourism, retail, childcare and other small business owners and workers took part in a protest in Dublin over rising costs and what they claim is a lack of Government assistance.
The protesters gathered near Merrion Square before marching past Government Buildings and the Department of Finance to Leinster House.
A rally took place there with a number of speakers addressing the crowd.
Business people and workers from all over the country travelled to Dublin to take part.
The protesters carried placards carrying slogans such as “Hospitality SMEs left out in the cold” and “270,000 hospitality livelihoods under threat.” They chanted “keep Ireland open”.
Paul Lenehan, the President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, told the assembled crowd that the cost of doing business had spiralled out of control and the Government has refused to take meaningful action to address it.
Mr Lenehan said firms have been left with no other choice but to come out and protest.
He said the Government has so far not listened to the industry, but added that the upcoming general election will be pivotal as the 270,000 people in the sector will all walk into the voting booth.
If they want our support, something has to change, he added.
Earlier, Tánaiste MÃcheál Martin said the Government needs to look at the cost base for those in the hospitality sector.
Speaking on his way into a meeting of the Cabinet, Mr Martin said he understood the pressures on small businesses in retail and the hospitality sector, especially given the impact of rises in the minimum wage in recent years and increases in energy costs.
“They are feeling the pressures, particularly because of increased costs across a range of areas.
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“I think Government has to look at the cost base of hospitality, the rapid rise of minimum wage over the last two years has been a factor for retail and hospitality.
“There are issues there to work on in terms of facilitating a better environment, both on the regulatory front and in terms of cost front for hospitality and energy.”
Protesters at today’s event highlighted what they claim are unsustainable costs and a lack of meaningful support from the Government in the Budget.
The action was organised by the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) and Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) and was supported by the Irish Small and Medium Sized Enterprises association (ISME).
The groups claim many of the costs are being driven by Government policy decisions, such as increases to the National Minimum Wage and paid statutory sick days.
The organisations are also critical of the pace of the planned transition to a Living Wage and the introduction of pension auto-enrolment next year.
They claim all these policies have arrived at once, amid an already inflationary cost environment.
“Restaurateurs, small coffee shop owners and others in the hospitality industry are hard-working people operating in what is currently an incredibly challenging business environment,” said Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the RAI.
“They would much rather be serving great food and welcoming guests from across the country and across the world than travelling to Dublin to protest.
“Unfortunately, the lack of support for hospitality and small businesses in Budget 2025 made this demonstration inevitable,” added Mr Cummins.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said: “Nearly 700 businesses have closed in the last 13 months since the VAT rate went back up to 13.5%.
“We felt that the Budget nothing major being delivered to us, and we have to take our issues to Dáil Éireann today.”
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Despite considerable pressure to do so, the Government did not re-introduce a 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector in the Budget.
Instead, it introduced a new €4,000 grant for small and medium sized businesses and increased the VAT registration thresholds for firms.
But the hospitality sector says the grant is worth €77 a week and will not make any significant dent in the cost increases facing businesses next year.
“Publicans across Ireland are at breaking point. Rising costs, combined with a lack of meaningful Government support, are pushing our businesses to the brink,” said Pat Crotty, CEO of VFI.
“We are here today to demand action because, without urgent intervention, many pubs won’t survive the winter.”
ISME said that while it supports Government policy to improve terms and conditions of employment, the Government has moved too far, too fast, and in too short a period of time for businesses and consumers to adjust.
“The effect on the hospitality, food, childcare, leisure, grooming, construction and nursing homes sectors in particular have been existential,” it said.
“Despite the fact we are close to full employment, we are seeing businesses in these sectors closing on a daily basis, when in fact they should be at their most profitable at the top of the economic cycle.”
Additional reporting Carla O’Brien