Drinks Ireland, along with our fellow members of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), the Licensed Vintners Association, the Vintners Federation of Ireland, the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the National Off-Licence Association, and the Irish Hotels Federation have launched our annual campaign lobbying for a reduction in alcohol excise in Budget 2023.
The high tax rates levied on our industry are unsustainable and uncompetitive and we are calling for a reduction in excise tax in Budget 2023 to boost post-Covid tourism and secure sustainable, long-term growth for Ireland's drinks and hospitality businesses in 2023 and beyond. We are proposing a 7.5% reduction in excise tax on drinks products, including wine, beer, spirits, and cider.
The effects of such a reduction would be felt immediately by thousands of hospitality businesses across Ireland, hundreds of thousands of directly and indirectly employed industry workers, and domestic and overseas consumers, including tourists.
Ireland's high excise tax on drinks products, combined with VAT, high commercial rents, and insurance, forces Ireland's drinks and hospitality businesses, particularly small exporting breweries and distilleries, to make growth-limiting sacrifices.
The Irish government takes approximately a third of the price of every drink purchased by a customer in a hospitality environment, money that could otherwise be invested by the business in new staff, new premises, new technology, and new products and services. This kind of growth is exactly what we need to kickstart tourism, drinks exports, and domestic spending.
As part of the campaign, we will publish various reports and our pre-Budget Submission.
Find out moreDiscover / Our latest reports
The Irish Pub: Supporting our communities 2023
This report shows a continuing decline in the number of pubs across Ireland, with the rate of decline accelerating since Covid-19. Analysis shows decline has reached an alarming rate of 22.5% since 2005.
Download report
Estimation of Costs of Doing Business in the Hospitality Sector in 2022 and 2023
This report examines the costs of doing business in the hospitality sector and examines the overall impact of the current inflation surge on the hospitality business cost model.
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Tax on Drinks: What Irish v EU and UK Consumers Pay
International comparisons between Ireland’s excise tax rate versus rates applied in the EU and UK in 2022
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Employment in the Drinks and Hospitality industry 2022
This report suggests tourism demand will impact employment, predicting 40,000 fewer jobs in the drinks and hospitality industry in 2022.
Download reportGet involved
We are asking our members to actively support the campaign. Below you will find some resources to allow you to get involved, here's what you can do:
1. Use the digital assets below
2. When using social media during the campaign, please remember to tag @DIGI_Ireland and @DrinksIreland and use the hastags #SupportYourLocal #SYL22 #IrishPubDecline
3. Like, share and retweet content on the DIGI and Drinks Ireland Twitter accounts
4. Share our latest report on social media: https://supportyourlocal.ie/wp-content/uploads/DIGI-REPORT-The-Irish-Pub-Stopping-the-Decline.pdf
