Publicans could cut the price of a pint could by as much as 50 cent if the Government agreed to reduce "extortionate" levels of excise duty, the president of the Vintners' Federation of Ireland (VFI) said today.
Mr Seamus O'Donoghue said Government policy was one of the main reasons prices in Ireland are so high. Duty on wine is the highest in the EU; while beer excise was the second highest and spirit excise the third, he said.
Mr Seamus O'Donoghue of the VFI
"Our excise duties are extortionate compared to our EU neighbours. For example, excise duty on beer is 11 times higher than Spain and 10 times that of Germany. Excise duty on spirits is 7 times higher than Italy and 5 times more than Spain and Portugal," Mr O'Donoghue said.
Urging the Government to bring Ireland's excise duties in line with other EU states, he said 63 cent would be slashed off the average price of a pint if excise duties were reduced to the same level as those applied in Germany.
"Contrary to popular belief, publicans alone cannot reduce the selling price but with co-operation from the Government a significant reduction could be introduced," Mr O'Donoghue said.
The VFI, which represents over 6,000 publicans in rural areas, meets later this week to discuss the fall-off in trade since the introduction of the smoking ban last March.
The Federation says the smoking ban and strict enforcement of laws banning children from pubs after 9 p.m. are among the main reasons why trade is down an estimated 25 - 30 per cent. Mr O'Donoghue expressed concern that the situation will worsen over the winter months.