3 minute read
Closed for business
Murphy Blacks in Kilkee is the latest restaurant to close its doors as the industry grapples with the VAT increase.
It hasn’t been a great month for Irish restaurants. The government has stated it’s going ahead with plans to introduce calorie information on menus while the ramifications of the VAT increase are being felt right across the country. Prominent restaurants like the Rathmines branch of Fallon & Byrne, Amuse on Dawson St in Dublin and Michelin-starred Mews in Baltimore, West Cork announced they were permanently closing, much to the dismay of the industry. The latest restaurant to close its doors is Murphy Blacks in Kilkee, Co Clare. Operating since 2004, its owners Cillian Murphy and Mary Redmond have cited the VAT increase as one of the reasons for the closure. “When the VAT was brought down to 9%, at the time that kept us going. I think increasing it to 13.5% was the wrong decision at the wrong time. For us, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back for sure. Ultimately when we looked at the VAT bill and deducted it from the end of year trading we asked ourselves, what are we doing this for? We’re putting 70, 80 hours a week into a business and we’re barely getting minimum wage out of it,” said Cillian.
If a more nuanced, regional approach to the VAT issue had been taken, we mightn’t be seeing so many restaurant closures today. “I have an issue with how the Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Association of Ireland fought the VAT issue. They looked at the country as a whole and fought it on the basis that it was the wrong decision for everybody. I understand that you can’t have a completely different VAT rate for Dublin and the rest of the country but a better alternative could have been retaining the 9% VAT rate and to offset the cost to the exchequer, applying a bedroom tax in the bigger cities like Dublin, Cork and Galway. That would have achieved a more regional balance. Cracking the hammer on top of everyone clearly wasn’t a good idea. All over the country, rural restaurants are closing.”
Finding qualified staff was another issue for Cillian and Mary as was maintaining the high standard of food that the restaurant had become known for. “It’s becoming harder to run a quality restaurant and still make a few quid at the end of the year. I was in a restaurant in Dublin where I had to walk through the kitchen to get to the toilet. I have no problem with that and I don’t think it’s a reason for a restaurant to be closed down, but I’d be shut down for the same thing. Maybe allowances are made for smaller premises in Dublin but it’s very hard for me to look at something like that and wonder, how come they’re getting away with it and I’m being punished?”
If you’re a restaurant owner in Ireland right now, you may feel like you’re under siege. The VAT increase came into effect earlier this month, the minimum wage is set to increase in February, food costs are on the up and the threat of mandatory calorie counted menus looms large. Yet, millions are being pumped into tourism incentives, proclaiming Ireland a unique food destination. “We’re urging people to come to Ireland for the great food but the decisions being made right now are making it very di cult not to go to a wholesaler and ask them to make our desserts. We’ve always taken great pride in our homemade desserts but I can see why some restaurants will have to go down that road now. We’re going to end up with tourists coming to Ireland and saying the food is fine but it all tastes the same.”
Closing the restaurant wasn’t an easy decision for Mary or Cillian. “Murphy Blacks was part of our identity and we’re aware of the impact it will have on Kilkee. However, we have to move on so it’s onto the next chapter for us.”
