Higher taxes won’t end alcohol abuse
The campaign to oppose café bars was led by the health lobby, by the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol, the Irish Medical Organisation, Alcohol Action Ireland, Barnardos and others.
Even the World Health Organisation agrees that increasing the number of licensed outlets will increase the potential harm.
There has already been a very substantial increase in the number of outlets for the sale of alcohol in recent years.
The 1925 Liquor Commission recognised the need to reduce the number of licences following the cap which was in introduced in 1902.
This was done for the very reasons cited by Tim O'Halloran, to reduce alcohol-related harm. Indeed the government at that time set out to reduce the number of licences.
It is pointless to call for an increase in alcohol taxation to deal with alcohol abuse.
While the level of indirect taxes (VAT and excise duties) has fallen as a proportion of the retail price in recent years, Ireland still has the highest taxed drinks industry in Europe by a long shot.
Indeed our alcohol taxes are in some cases up to 30 times the level of some of our European colleagues.
Your correspondent misses the point the issue is not consumption of alcohol but rather abuse, something we all have an interest in reducing.
The extraordinarily high taxation to which the Irish drinker is subjected has not been successful in curbing abuse. And it is not going to do so in the future. Neither, incidentally, is facetious twaddle.
A cohesive policy which, among other things, insists on people being responsible for their own actions may be more productive.
Tadg O'Sullivan
Chief Executive
Vintners' Federation of Ireland
VFI House
Castleside Drive
Rathfarnam
Dublin 14.
