Exceptional figures achieved last year for some high profile sales . . . 20m for the Old Orchard Inn in Rathfarnham, for example . . . and forecasters' optimistic predictions for the year ahead, distort the reality that some publicans face an uncertain future.

A combination of factors including the long-term effects of the smoking ban, legislative changes in relation to the transferability of liquor licences, and, in particular, strict application of the drink-drive regulations are undermining the commercial viability of some licensed premises, particularly those in remote locations.

Empty car parks at isolated pubs are a tell-tale sign of the hard times some publicans are suffering, Dublin auctioneer and licensed premises specialist John Younge claims.

"The media usually focus on the smoking ban . . . but it's the drinking laws and the points system that are impacting greatly on places like roadhouses and golf club bars.

"Turnover, across the board, may be down 10% or 5% since the year 2000 and that's as a result of the drinkdrive regulations rather than the smoking ban.

"Traditionally, roadside taverns relied on passing trade, but empty car parks are an indication that it's no longer regarded as acceptable to drink and drive."

Ironically, it's the empty car parks that could prove the lifeline these hard-pressed publicans need in order to continue trading.

"Because the property market is so lucrative and space is at a premium, " says Younge, "when builders see a site of maybe an acre coming on the market and half of that is a car park, well, it's a very attractive opportunity for development.

"It's called alternative-use in the trade. In most towns and villages you'll find the zoning is mixed . . . residential and commercial . . . so you could end up retaining the pub but adding maybe a mixture of retail units and apartments, all on the original site.

That's what's happening at the Mill House in Clonee which we sold last year. With an expansive car park, it's an ideal site for redevelopment."

Roscommon auctioneer John Earley sold 17 pubs last year and says confidence is returning to the licensed sector after a number of lean years.

"Every town in the country has a few landmark public houses which are well-run and well-frequented and when they do come on the market there is always someone ready to put his hand in his pocket and pay up for the privilege of owning it."

But he does admit that not all publicans are in a position to benefit from the market's new buoyancy.

"The reality is that in parts of the country, particularly the west, there are simply too many pubs. Some villages have as many as seven or eight.

"There are pubs on the fringe, located down side streets or off the beaten track, where trade is weak and the temptation to sell up is very enticing.

"A publican who finds himself in that position could sell the licence for 170,000 and sell the property to a developer, and he'd make more than if he sold his premises as a going concern."

Earley says many pub licenses sold in this fashion are used to open off-license premises.

"Effective deregulation means you can now open an off-licence anywhere in the country. It's now a growing market and the evidence is there in any town you drive into in rural Ireland.

"A lot of these off-licences are thriving because of changes in drinking patterns.

More people, including most of the non-nationals living in the country, prefer to drink at home.

"It's inevitable that if you have too many pubs you're going to have casualties.

There's a natural skimming process that comes into effect. On the other hand, if you look at local villages here like Ballintubber and Loughglynn, each of them has two pubs, which is a perfect scenario.

"They're all thriving businesses and the owners are providing employment and making a good living for themselves.

"There is evidence that more publicans are looking at the option of selling their license, " says John Hughes, of CBRE Gunne.

"Certainly a lot of publicans are looking at the alternative use possibilities. It's an attractive option . . . especially in urban areas where land values continue to increase."

He says the company expects to see a lot of provincial pubs coming on the market during the year, with strong prices likely to be achieved for prime properties in good provincial towns.

"Considering the high rate of stamp duty applying to pub sales, we expect to see an increasing number of transactions . . . particularly high value transactions . . . happening by way of share transfer in an effort to reduce acquisition costs."

"Some publicans still have lessons to learn, " says John Younge, who sold 60m worth of licensed property last year.

"The demographics have changed. Ours is now a dynamic and evolving culture. Publicans have to provide for a more sophisticated market. And in fairness many of them do. Look at Maguires on Baggot Street, for example. It's a nice hotel with an eye-catching rustic bar. But they've used imagination and creativity developing the smoking area at the back to such an extent that you could almost say they've built a new drinking emporium.

"It goes to show what can be done to enhance your property."