WITH Diageo confirming a Guinness price rise from February 2, Irish drinkers are bracing for another jump at the bar, with reports suggesting the average customer could see increases of around €0.20 per pint depending on venue.
A recent study carried out by Casino.org Ireland found that Donegal is the third most expensive county for drinkers.
Casino.org Ireland has analysed how “pint affordability” looks across Ireland right now using two simple, relatable measures: Minutes of work per pint (based on median weekly earnings) and the 5-pint night out tax, meaning what a standard five-pint session costs as a share of weekly pay.
In simple terms, pint prices have risen faster than pay.
Minutes of work for one pint
Casino.org have calculated how many of minutes you would have to work to afford a pint.
In the priciest counties on their model, a median earner has to work 25+ minutes for the value of a single pint.
It was found that in Donegal people would have to work 21 minutes 43 seconds to pay for a pint.
The 5-pint night out tax (share of weekly pay)
A “standard” five-pint session now costs roughly 4% to 5.5% of an average weekly paycheck depending on county, before you even add food, taxis, or a late bar.
What the February 2 hike could do:
If venues pass on a €0.20 increase to drinkers, the “minutes per pint” and the “5-pint tax” rise again across the board.
JJ Lee, spokesperson for Casino.org Ireland said:
“People generally don’t think about pints in percentages, they think about time. If a pint of plain now costs you 20 minutes of work in some counties, that’s a really simple way to show why a normal night out feels harder to justify than it did a few years ago.”
County rankings (Casino.org Pint Affordability Index)
TOP 10 WORST COUNTIES (ranked by minutes of work per pint)
Rk County Pint Min/pint 5 pints % of pay
01 Clare €5.50 25m44s €27.50 5.50%
02 Louth €6.00 22m15s €30.00 4.45%
03 Donegal €5.60 21m43s €28.00 4.64%
04 Kerry €5.60 21m34s €28.00 4.72%
05 Sligo €5.50 21m19s €27.50 4.44%
06 Dublin €6.95 20m49s €34.75 4.23%
07 Galway €6.00 20m28s €30.00 4.20%
08 Limerick €6.00 20m25s €30.00 4.21%
09 Wexford €5.70 20m24s €28.50 4.25%
10 Waterford €5.75 20m16s €28.75 4.27%
TOP 5 BEST COUNTIES (ranked by minutes of work per pint)
Rk County Pint Min/pint 5 pints % of pay
22 Monaghan €5.60 17m28s €28.00 4.04%
21 Leitrim €5.00 17m30s €25.00 3.74%
20 Kildare €6.00 17m36s €30.00 3.76%
19 Cork €5.80 17m44s €29.00 3.79%
18 Meath €6.00 18m20s €30.00 3.92%
