Sir, - Isolde Goggin of the Competition Authority (June 8th) alleges that last month I called for a reduction in the rate of tax on alcohol. Not true. On May 16th, I was asked by the press for a response to junior minister Tom Kitt's call for a voluntary freeze on drink prices which he said would have a positive impact on Ireland's inflation rate. I responded by saying that, if the Government believed reducing the price of drink would reduce inflation, why not take 8p off excise taxes? This would bring down the price of the pint by about 14p or 15p. I added that "the Government is getting much more out of the pint than we are - probably five times as much, i.e. 40 per cent of the retail price. Publicans would not get 5 per cent after overheads".
To misrepresent this response as "a recent call for a reduction in the rate of tax on alcohol" is a little disingenuous. It is typical of the misrepresentations so often promulgated against the pubs of Ireland. This is a sector of the economy which contributes so much to national employment, the economy and tourism while the majority of its members make little return on their investment because of, to quote Ms Goggin, "the proliferation of licensed premises in rural Ireland". - Yours etc.,
Tadg O'Sullivan, Chief Executive, Vintners' Federation of Ireland, Dublin 14.