Publicans urged to freeze price of pint

Publicans across the country today called on drinks suppliers to freeze the price of a pint.

The Vintners Federation of Ireland claimed the impact of the smoking ban and an overall downturn in trade had led to a loss of jobs and a drop in incomes with rural pubs hit the hardest.

Seamus O’Donoghue, VFI president, said publicans outside of Dublin, Galway and Cork were struggling to stay afloat and remain competitive in a difficult economic climate.

“We are demanding that drinks suppliers respect this situation in which we all operate and not burden us, or our customers, with increased costs,” he said.

“Profit margins in rural pubs are extremely low, with the average profit on a pint being just 31 cent. The trade at local level simply cannot take further cost increases.”

Drinks giant Diageo has claimed the smoking ban was to blame for a 5% drop in bar sales in the second half of last year.

But Mr O’Donoghue said if suppliers agreed to the freeze he was confident rural pub owners would keep to their end of the bargain for the benefit of consumers and the industry.

The average price of a pint in the VFI’s 6,000 member pubs is €3.50, the federation said.

Mr O’Donoghue said in light of the industry’s contribution to tourism and a growing need for stability within the trade he was hopeful suppliers would heed the call.