Time to give us a break, a tax break please

Ireland is expensive. That’s a reality we’ve been living with for a long time. Recently released figures from Eurostat have showed that the price of alcohol and tobacco in Ireland is 116% more expensive than the EU average, and three times as high as the lowest price recorded in Bulgaria. Eurostat claims that the large price variation between the two European countries is mainly due to differences in taxation of such products with 28% of the price of an Irish pint paid for by the consumer going directly to the exchequer in VAT and excise. Irish excise rates are the highest in the EU now except for Finland.

Eurostat also found that Ireland is the fourth most expensive country in the EU for food and non-alcoholic beverages with prices 15% above the EU average and to add to that the cost of restaurants and hotels in Ireland are now 28.5% above EU average prices. While taxation is the real issue that needs to be tackled, questions should also be asked as to why Ireland has the second highest energy prices in the EU after Denmark, with the cost of electricity and gas sitting 38% above the EU average. The war in Ukraine should be affecting all EU countries similarly but again we manage to pay more for energy than most of our neighbours. There is a trend here.

Our cover interviewee for this issue is Laura Moriarty, the new chair of the LVA. She speaks about how Ireland has long struggled with an “extraordinarily high level of excise” that is applied to alcohol in this country. Moriarty says the LVA is committed to engaging with the government to seek a reduction in excise rates to try to create a level playing field with the rest of Europe. “It is the second highest level of excise across the EU/UK. When combined with VAT at 23% on alcohol this means that around one-third of the price of alcohol served in the pub trade goes to the government on tax. With the country’s finances in such good shape, seeking excise reduction will be an important element of our pre-Budget engagement later this year,” she warns.

Jonathan McDade, director of Wine at Drinks Ireland reiterates Moriarity’s call and says they are also asking government for a decrease in excise to put a stop to what he calls a tax on special occasions. He says, “We are calling for a 15% decrease on excise on wine over the next two budgets. As the cost-of-living crisis worsens, Irish consumers face the highest excise on wine in the EU, which is €3.19 on a standard bottle. For sparkling wine drinkers, the excise hit is doubled with a rate of €6.37 on a standard bottle. This is effectively a tax on life’s celebrations and special occasions.”

The months ahead are vital for the trade bodies to lobby the government and convince them to give the sector a break but if this happens the trade will in turn have to be ready to decrease its prices fairly sharply as the Irish public are well and truly sick of paying through the nose for food and drink.

Elsewhere in this issue, we took a trip to Louth this month to visit the Glyde Inn and meet proprietor Conor O’Neill. Aside from enjoying a trip to this idyllic slice of the east coast, this pub is a testament to what great drive and determination can achieve and demonstrates how important it is to keep pushing a business forward. The pub’s reputation for great seafood is widely known yet this is only one facet of the business and in todays market, a business in rural Ireland needs to have a few unique selling points to keep it on the tourist map. You can read about it on page 18.

Meanwhile, Maximilian Riedel of Riedel Glassware swung by Dublin this month to educate the trade on the important relationship between wine and wine glass. After a very interesting guided tasting, the crowd was in no doubt about the importance of the right glass and of course, the benefits of decanting.

Speaking of wine glasses, the summer wines feature on page 26 details the top wines that consumers are choosing during the warmer months.

Fionnuala Carolan Editor

We hope you are enjoying the summer so far and that the good weather in June ensured that business was brisk!

Feel free to contact me with any news or views on the trade. I’d be delighted to hear from you. Sláinte

Fionnuala.