Over 2 thousand pubs have closed down across the country over the last 10 years with dozens of rural villages left without a 'local' for the first time.
A survey of publicans revealed that 97 percent believe further closures are inevitable in the current economic and regulatory environment.
However, the President of the VFI and Nenagh publican Noreen O'Sullivan says that the closure rate has slowed down somewhat as the economy improves.
