OPINION: 'I can't afford €95 nights out anymore - no wonder pubs are closing down'

After a long week of work I'd normally look forward to going out to the local pub for drinks with friends. But for the past couple of weeks, I haven't been able to do that.

What went from a once a week get together with friends has turned into a "maybe next week; I'm too broke!"

When my money was suddenly just vanishing out of thin air I knew it was the Saturday night trip to town with friends that was the culprit.

When I calculated my last night out, I spent a grand total of €95!

I live about a ten minutes drive from the local pubs I'd go to meet my friends, so with a taxi up and back, that's already around €40 gone.

I bought four drinks that night (I was trying to save my money!) which came to a grand total of €43!

And with a cheeky trip to the local chipper on the way home I was near to hitting €100 in total!

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I know there's a lot worse to be complaining about but I just think it's sad that I can no longer afford to meet my friends once a week for a dance and a few drinks.

And I'm not the only one who feels this way. There's been a big shift in night life culture in Ireland. A lot of pubs have closed down, 2,000 of them in the last 20 years, and more are closing every week. 

Maybe some of the decline is the fact the prices are just extortionate. 

DIGI secretary, Donall O’Keeffe said that "more than 100 pubs are closing every year in Ireland, due in large part to the high costs imposed by the State" and "without immediate intervention, up to 1,000 more pubs will close for the last time."

I think that is a very sad reality because for many people going to the pub to meet with friends is a highlight to their week.

It's a way for people to get out of the house, de-stress and socialise.

But it's getting harder and harder to do these things when the cost-of-living is sucking the energy out of businesses and people.