Irish pubs to become internet cafes by day

Pubs in rural Ireland could become internet cafes by day in a bid to beat a devastating business slump.

More than 1,000 rural pubs have closed in the last four years, according to the Vintners' Federation of Ireland (VFI).

And VFI president Paul Stevenson has warned the 5,000-plus members they must adapt or die.

He said: "The days of standing behind your bar counter expecting customers to come in are over. We have to realise that and move on."

He has come up with a list of suggestions to bolster business, which includes:

• Providing ethnic food to attract trade from Ireland's growing influx of immigrants

• Turning the premises into an internet café during the day, when many pubs close to save on overheads

• Making function rooms available for dance classes, choir practice or school homework clubs.

• Providing a range of wines for women - "if you get them, the men will follow."

Stevenson puts the current crisis down to a combination of the smoking ban, the introduction of random breath-testing of drivers and cut-price alcohol in supermarkets and convenience stores.

"The result has been an explosion in the number of off-licences and a huge increase in home drinking, at the expense of pubs," he said.

A similar situation is developing in the UK, where smoking bans are also now in place.

In a bid to stem the closures, the Irish government has introduced a special transport service in rural areas, nicknamed 'booze buses', to take customers to their local and home again.

And in the Limerick village of Mountpelier, pub owner John Joe Fitzpatrick tried a different approach - he hired Ireland's first topless barmaid.

"It boosted custom initially," he said, "but in the end it couldn't save the business."

He has since closed the pub and sold the licence to the supermarket group Aldi.