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"TheBeerNut":6kp7i8wg wrote: 1994. The amount people drank went up.[/quote:6kp7i8wg]


coincidentally the around same time chuck norris stared home-brewing <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

&amp;quot;UpsidedownA&amp;quot;:9i670c0i wrote:

&amp;quot;sbillings&amp;quot;:9i670c0i wrote: Hardly surprising, but it still stings. Not enough to kill the trade, just an extra load for us to bear.[/quote:9i670c0i]

Are you going to do anything about it fearless chair?[/quote:9i670c0i] We sent a pre budget submission, press releases and I have been personally hassling media types. Do you have any further suggestions?

While I hate this and I think we pay far too much tax on alcohol already, it is very difficult to argue against a 10 cent increase in excise duty on beer. As the last increase was way back in 1994 and a pint was €2.34[/url:3iqdoxzq] then, it could be argued that this increase doesn't even bring the governments percentage cut back to what it was in the 1990s. It would also seem pretty self centred to complain about it when wine took such a hit relative to beer.

I think the best way to argue this is to generally decry increases in duty of any kind as both harmful to Irish business, because it will drive cross border sales and wholly ineffective at curbing alcohol abuse.

&amp;quot;sbillings&amp;quot;:rew2akos wrote:

&amp;quot;UpsidedownA&amp;quot;:rew2akos wrote:

&amp;quot;sbillings&amp;quot;:rew2akos wrote: Hardly surprising, but it still stings. Not enough to kill the trade, just an extra load for us to bear.[/quote:rew2akos]

Are you going to do anything about it fearless chair?[/quote:rew2akos] We sent a pre budget submission, press releases and I have been personally hassling media types. Do you have any further suggestions?[/quote:rew2akos]

I'm pleased we sent a pre-budget submission in, although I think the emphasis on below cost selling was misplaced. If I'd seen the discussion thread in the members only section I'd have argued against doing it. I think the request for the farmers' markets and the change in the law to allow breweries to sell their own beer on site were better ideas. But something is better than nothing.

The emphasis was on below cost selling because that was what the rumblings seemed to be about. I did put below cost selling in the context of price inflation and pointed out that taxation has never been an effective way of curbing alcohol abuse, but I don't think that's what this price hike was about anyway.

They set it at 10 cent because they think that that will get them extra cash without impacting the hospitality sector too much. I think the €1 hike on wine is actually an attempt at protectionism by the back door. Just as France has hiked tax on beer, but not wine, the Irish government is trying to make beer, most of which is brewed domestically, a more attractive prospect than almost exclusively imported wine.

&amp;quot;UpsidedownA&amp;quot;:1i940dag wrote: I think the request for the farmers' markets and the change in the law to allow breweries to sell their own beer on site were better ideas. But something is better than nothing.[/quote:1i940dag]

These are good ideas, but not appropriate for a pre budget submission, as such submissions are only for matters relating to the budget, not general changes in the law. If you think we should campaign for a change in the law along these lines, why not start a thread in the Beoir members area and see if we can come up with a way of getting some attention to the concept and maybe some support for it?

&amp;quot;sbillings&amp;quot;:lbpj85yb wrote:

&amp;quot;UpsidedownA&amp;quot;:lbpj85yb wrote: I think the request for the farmers' markets and the change in the law to allow breweries to sell their own beer on site were better ideas. But something is better than nothing.[/quote:lbpj85yb]

These are good ideas, but not appropriate for a pre budget submission, as such submissions are only for matters relating to the budget, not general changes in the law. If you think we should campaign for a change in the law along these lines, why not start a thread in the Beoir members area and see if we can come up with a way of getting some attention to the concept and maybe some support for it?[/quote:lbpj85yb]

Fair enough.