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It would require a bit of expertise to run alright, but jeez if us Irish can't run a few pubs, there's no hope for us!

I'm not sure if there would be an EU competition laws in the way. I doubt it tho as several state-owned bodies already operate on a commercial footing in other EU countries. eg ESBI, the DAA with Birmingham Airport etc.

The pubs could be used for channeling food as well as drink into the UK.

"TheBeerNut":ti5j8gmc wrote:

"sbillings":ti5j8gmc wrote: Then you also have to consider how the British government and public (read newspapers) would react to the Irish government doing this.[/quote:ti5j8gmc]You think? Specifically the government, or Irish ownership generally? I mean, there doesn't seem to have been an outcry when Glasgow's august Wellpark Brewery -- older than Guinness -- fell to the Tipperary bog trotters last year.[/quote:ti5j8gmc]

It was the Irish government owning a company running English pubs and replacing British made products with Irish ones that I thought might get some hackles up.

I don't think any objection would last. Think of all the Guinness-sponsored "Irish" pubs that have opened around the place. They usually displace the local produce to a certain extent. But then everyone finds out Irish pubs are great and starts to wish they had more of them <!-- s;) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s;) -->

&amp;quot;Tube&amp;quot;:2ag1uuwt wrote: The pubs could be used for channeling food as well as drink into the UK.[/quote:2ag1uuwt]It's an absolutely miniscule scale, though. You'd have to run them as Bord Bia adverts -- and I don't think they're all that interested in pumping money into the UK since it's already our biggest customer.

&amp;quot;Tube&amp;quot;:ih4fj40m wrote: But then everyone finds out Irish pubs are great and starts to wish they had more of them <!-- s;) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s;) -->[/quote:ih4fj40m]
Jesus wept! those poor people <!-- s:( --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_sad.gif" alt="" title="Sad" /><!-- s:( -->

&amp;quot;TheBeerNut&amp;quot;:19hww9bd wrote: It's an absolutely miniscule scale, though. You'd have to run them as Bord Bia adverts -- and I don't think they're all that interested in pumping money into the UK since it's already our biggest customer.[/quote:19hww9bd]
200 pubs would be a market for 200 kegs a week of say Galway Hooker. That's a fair shot in the arm for the GH lads.

Bord Bia - well why not. Has the UK market reached saturation for Irish produce? I don't think they're beyond the tip of the iceberg.