The owner of a popular restaurant that was forced to close down this week said his latest energy bill - with even higher winter bills looming - was "the final nail in the coffin".
Cistín Eile in Wexford town served its last meal this week after 12 years in business, unable to contend with a fourfold increase in energy bills, spiralling material costs and a severe staff shortage in the hospitality sector.
Owner Warren Gillen said: "It's unsustainable because it just affects your cash flow too much.
"It's a direct debit and they're taking four times as much out of your account as normal.
"The rest of that money will be paying the rent, suppliers, staff, and then it's all gone, so where does it come from?
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"We would have to double the price of everything just to break even, and that's just not tenable."
Despite measures announced in Budget 2023 this week to pay 40% of electricity increases from September for SMEs, up to €10,000, Mr Gillen said: "They haven't acted decisively enough and their measures are not good enough.
"It's [budget measures] not going to cover a 400% increase - it's not even going to touch it."
He added that this week's indication that the VAT rate for hospitality will return from 9% to the prepandemic rate of 13.5% at the end of February "doesn't inspire confidence".
"What the hell are they at?" he asked. "They haven't a clue. If anything they should be reducing it more."
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe last week said hotel price gouging would "be taken into account" when making a decision on the VAT rate ahead of the budget.
But Mr Gillen argued that small businesses should not be lumped into the same bracket as large hotel groups.
He said: "It's not fair to demonise restaurants and cafes because of hotels. A lot of those big hotels are hotel groups. I'm an individual business owner - I don't have a big corporation behind me."
Cistín Eile's announcement on social media this week that it was closing prompted scores of messages of gratitude and support from its customers, who praised its "beautiful food and impeccable service".
"A lot of our customers are very regular, so they've become good friends," Mr Gillen said. "We've catered for a lot of family events over the years and people have had communions, confirmations, weddings? so the toughest part is we'll miss the people."
The restaurant opened in 2010, prospering during the recession and then surviving the pandemic - "so we clearly know how to do things right", said Mr Gillen, who has 25 years' experience in the industry.
"[Restaurateurs] are very good at estimating our bills for everything to within €50, give or take. Then to get shocking bills like that - even the most efficient business in the world is going to be thrown by that."
A "very serious head-to-head meeting" with his accountant concluded there was no option but to close down, "apart from heavy refinancing, which I don't advocate for because you're just pushing the problem down the tracks".
"Sense overrides passion in this one," Mr Gillen added. "It's tough, but necessary."
Image: Warren Gillien in his restaurant Cistín Eile, Wexford. Photo Seán Dwyer
