Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Ireland's government may drive its people to drink.

Rural Affairs Minister Eamon O Cuiv is proposing a bus service to shuttle people to and from country bars as a crackdown on drunk driving threatens pubs that are the traditional meeting places in many communities. Ann Kenny, who plans to close her Bridge Inn in County Limerick, says it's too little, too late.

``It looks like the end of rural Ireland,'' Kenny said. Sales at her 120-year-old bar fell 50 percent after police began randomly testing drivers for alcohol consumption, she said.

The drive to get drunks off the road is dividing a nation whose tourism board advertises it as a place to enjoy a welcoming pint of stout. Mick Loftus, a former coroner in County Mayo, points out that drinking is involved in 40 percent of fatal car accidents in Ireland. Rural residents say the change is tearing their social fabric as many post offices and dairies, their other gathering spots, also shut down.

About 200 rural bars closed last year, with some selling their licenses to publicans who open bars in cities, which are better served by buses and taxis.

``If you're living on your own on the side of a hill and there's no mode of transport, what do you do?'' asked O Cuiv. ``The problem of people getting out and about in the evening has grown because of random testing. They are saying the social life isn't what it used to be.''

At the Bridge Inn on a Monday night this month, as few as 10 people huddled round the pub's open fires. In the past, as many as 40 visitors would drink, throw darts and play pool at the bar, which hosts bands, birthday parties and wakes in the heart of an agricultural region known as the Golden Vale.

Lonely Bachelors

``People are so disheartened,'' said Kenny, who says many of her customers are bachelor farmers. ``They are not able to see anyone. It's going to lead to depression.''

People in Ireland drink the most among the 13 countries that provided data for the most recent survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In July, Ireland broadened police powers amid increasing concern about traffic accidents caused by drunk drivers. Some 396 people died on Ireland's roads in 2005, a four-year high. In the first half of 2006, road deaths rose 10 percent.

The new rules let police test any driver's breath for the presence of alcohol. Previously, they needed to show cause for administering the test.

Arrests for drunk driving rose 33 percent last year to 17,788. Those convicted lose their driving privileges for months or even years, depending on the amount by which their blood alcohol exceeds the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Hurting Pubs

The crackdown is only the latest blow to the pub industry. In 2004, Ireland became the first country to ban smoking in bars, a move copied across Europe. The prohibition amplified a trend toward drinking at home, fueled in part by rising bar prices.

``Publicans are feeling the pinch,'' said Eileen Scully, 60, who closed the Horseshoe Bar in Ballymote after 36 years. ``It just got to the stage where it wasn't viable.''

Eight hundred pubs, about 13 percent of those outside Dublin, have been closed during the past three years, according to the Vintners Federation of Ireland.

Bar sales dropped 2.3 percent in the 12 months through November, compared with a 5.9 percent increase in retail sales.

Alcohol consumption fell 7 percent to 13.39 liters per adult from 2001 to 2005, according to the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland, which represents companies including Diageo Plc, the world's largest liquor maker.

Morning Checks

Police aren't just patrolling for drunk drivers at night. They stop drivers in the morning to catch those who still have alcohol in their systems from the previous evening. No bus service is proposed for drinkers heading to work the next day.

``People can't come out at night because they will be caught in the morning,'' said Ann Buckley, owner of Cahill's Bar in Rathmore, County Kerry. ``There's nothing anyone can do.''

People in rural Ireland feel cut off and forgotten, the Vintners Federation said in a statement this month. In some communities, people are being left with no alternative but to stay home, it said.

The Rural Affairs Ministry plans a pilot program to test the extension of rural bus services to help people who don't want to drive after drinking. The solution isn't accepted by everyone.

``The minister is saying to people, `We'll bring you into drink and drink plenty,''' Loftus said. ``The government would be better served trying to reduce the 1,000 alcohol-related deaths and the 7 billion euros we spend on drink every year.''

For Kenny, the government's proposal is too late. She expects to close her bar two years earlier than she had planned, after family members declined to take over.

``They can see the writing on the wall,'' Kenny said. ``People are so scared. Pubs will never be like they used to be.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Louisa Nesbitt in Dublin at lnesbitt@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 29, 2007 19:33 EST