Sir, – The sharp rise in output in microbreweries in Ireland was highlighted in a piece on the annual report from the Irish Brewers' Association (IBA) ("Microbrewery beer production rose 550% per cent over three years", August 23rd).
As the IBA is calling for a reduction in excise duty, it may also be of interest to your readers to know that the ongoing success of microbreweries has been directly supported by tax policy. Since 2005, a relief of 50 per cent on excise duty applies on beer from breweries producing up to 20,000 hectolitres. This means that the excise duty on a pint of beer (4.3 per cent ABV) produced by a microbrewery is 28 cents , compared to 55 cents for a multinational producer. The limit to qualify as a microbrewery was then extended to 30,000 hectolitres in 2015, further boosting this sector, and the excise duty relief provided to microbreweries in 2014 by the taxpayer (€2.3 million) is expected to increase significantly.
In respect of the bigger producers, it is notable that when excise duty is examined as a proportion of the price of a pint of beer, figures provided by the Department of Finance show that it has fallen since 2003, as excise has failed to keep pace with retail price increases in pubs.
While alcohol producers and retailers focus on the excise duty increases in 2013 and 2014, they are less keen to acknowledge that during 19 of the last 27 budgets in Ireland there was no increase in excise duty (and a significant 20 per cent decrease in 2010), meaning that the burden of excise duty has declined in real terms in recent decades.
Most importantly, Ireland’s excise duty must reflect the huge cost of alcohol harm to the State, particularly our health and criminal justice systems, in a country where there are three alcohol-related deaths every day. We can put no cost on the devastating personal and social consequences for individuals, families and communities throughout Ireland as a result of alcohol harm. – Yours, etc,
CONOR CULLEN,
Head of Communications
and Advocacy,
Alcohol Action Ireland
Coleraine House,
Coleraine Street, Dublin 7.