Irish drinker pays through ear for beer necessities
Research from Ernst and Young has shown we are paying nine times the average EU excise tax. Last year alone, our cultural forays garnered a tidy €427m for our beleaguered Exchequer.
Our national thirst has also made us unwitting connoisseurs of beer and stout, as Ireland is Europe’s third highest exporter of beer, lagging behind the Netherlands and Belgium.
“This report proves that Ireland’s beer sector remains a key component of our export economy and the Government needs to ensure that their future approach to taxation policy does not further negatively impact an industry already heavily burdened by taxation,” said Ernst and Young Industrial, Commercial and Technology Partner.
The report, “Contribution made by beer to the European economy”, carried out on behalf of the Brewers of Europe found only Britain, Finland and Norway had higher excise duties than Ireland.
But production has fallen in recent years with our consumption dropping to 8.846 million hectolitres last year compared to 9.377m hectolitres in 2006.
While publicans paint themselves as victims of the Great Beer Wars that have been raging between supermarkets, we still top the European league table in pub going. So, while “staying in” may be touted as the new “going out”, just under a third of us buy alcohol in off-licences compared with almost two-thirds of Europeans, who regularly opt for home drinking.
Remember that old adage beloved of Irish mothers: “Drinking at home will do you no good. You’re much better off doing your drinking in the pub”?
The publican clearly has much to thank them for.
