by Kate Heaney
THE future of the Donegal pub looks anything but assured as a combination of factors culminate in what may become the perfect storm.
While prices in smaller rural towns and villages may be considerably lower than in the major cities, this week the Drinks Industry Group Ireland (DIGI) published research showing that Ireland has the second highest excise duty in Europe.
With the general public still very much feeling the pain of the cost of living rises and publicans, hoteliers and restauranteurs paying more in wages, insurance and energy, the DIGI is calling on government to reduce excise duty here.
They cite the example of a bottle of Irish produced whiskey, excise tax is over four times higher in Ireland than in Spain, with Irish consumers paying almost €12 compared to their Spanish counterparts who pay only €2.69 in tax.
Ireland currently has the second highest excise tax on wine, the third highest on beer and the third highest on spirits.
For example, a glass of wine in Ireland currently incurs an excise tax of 80 cent compared to 1 cent in France, while 15 EU countries pay no excise on wine whatsoever.
On top of this, consumers also pay an additional 23 per cent VAT on alcohol purchases, meaning the Government is getting a total of 30-35 per cent of the retail price of every drink sold.
Councillor Martin Harley who is Public Relations Officer for the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland Donegal branch told the Donegal News yesterday that the future for local pubs and restaurants was not optimistic.
“The cost of things like Sky sports for a pub starts at around €674 a month.
“Heating oil has quadrupled in price over the past four years, the minimum wage has risen, insurance costs have rocketed and four years ago a unit of electricity was 17.8 cent its now 35 cent.
“I am not optimistic for the future of pubs and the hospitality business in general unless the government do something to reduce overheads for business.
“The VFI and DIGI are appealing to government to step in to help us stay in business,” he added.
A DIGI spokesperson stressed that Ireland’s drinks and hospitality industry is one of our greatest success stories both here and abroad
and it is engrained in the economic, social and cultural fabric of Ireland.
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