One in five restaurants could be at risk, if the government increases the VAT rate.
That's the view of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, which is calling for the 9% VAT rate to stay.
A joint report with DCU Business School found an increase could place Irish businesses at a "competitive disadvantage".
CEO of the Restaurants Association, Adrian Cummins says the last three years have been difficult for hospitality.
"We lost nearly €6bn in revenue, we did get revenue from the state in subsidies.
"This is an industry that is trying to recover, and it will take us another 2-3 years to get us back to where we were pre-pandemic."
