People running food business have warned that it is "impossible" to make them viable.
Representatives from the tourism, hospitality, retail and other sectors protested outside Leinster House earlier highlighting the "unsustainable cost of doing business" and the "lack of meaningful support provided by the Government" in Budget 2025.
Organisers say the rally aimed to highlight the mounting cost pressures on small and medium enterprises arising from Government policies.
Paul Lenehan from The Hartes Group owns four restaurants in County Kildare and told The Hard Shoulder his costs are out of control.
"Costs have gone up exponentially in the last number of years," he said.
"Obviously starting two or three years ago with coming out of COVID - energy costs, food costs, everything has just been spiraling out of control.
"The Government last year then just decided to throw an extra 4.5% back on.
"I appreciate it is supposed to be a consumer tax but in a time of escalating costs, it's just another cost that business simply cannot afford".
'Not sustainable'
Mr Lenehan said making a profit is "extremely difficult".
"You always aim to be [at] a 6% to 8% in profit at the end of they year to extend on your business, to employ new staff - you'd have to be at that level to be progressive and to make it worth your while," he said.
"We're down break-even now... that is not sustainable".
Mr Lenehan said while restaurants are busy and people are going out, the average spend "has stayed the same over the last number of years."
"People still want to go out and spend the same amount, it's just that they're not probably getting value for money now because we can't reduce our prices anymore," he said.
'Extra costs'
Russell Bailey owns La Bucca restaurant in County Meath, which is closing its doors this weekend.
"I've run restaurants in Co Meath for 20 years now - we've through the recession, we've been through the pandemic - at this moment in time it's the hardest to make the sums stack up," he said.
"The supports have been taken away in terms of VAT and extra costs have been thrown in.
"It's just basically impossible to make a business viable at the minute".
'Change the rhetoric'
Anthony Gray owns two restaurants in Sligo town and said conditions in the industry has never been so bad.
"It's the most difficult it's ever been - we've had hundreds of job losses in the north-west and hundreds of closures," he said.
"It's time the Government change the rhetoric and that's why we're up here today to actually get our voices heard.
"They totally neglected us in the Budget - it's an industry that's crying out for someone to save it and unfortunately the Government have turned a blind eye to us".
Mr Gray added that increasing costs include minimum wage increases and the incoming pension enrolment scheme.
Listen back here:
