It’s now up to £1.70 for a pint of plain
April 1993
Wexford’s drinkers are facing a new 5p price hike on the pint following a decision by publicans to ignore Minister Bertie Ahern’s warning to them.
A meeting of the Wexford and District Vintner’s Association last week decided to put a 3.5% price increase on all drink, to combat increases in overheads.
Speaking on behalf of the vintners this week, Barney Murphy said that larger pub licence fees and increased charges by the Irish Music Rights Association are two of the reasons why the publicans are forced to put up the price of a pint.
Mr Murphy added that this is the first increase since late 1991 for which the vintners have been directly responsible. ‘ There have been increases since 1991, but they have had nothing to do with the publican,’ he said, adding that this 5p hike is ‘within the bands of inflation’.
Mr Murphy also defended the vintners’ preBudget advertising campaign which asked people to lobby their local politicians to reduce drink tax. He said that the vintners are against taxation on drink, and noted that Ireland has the second highest tax rate on drink in the EC.
Finally, Mr Murphy said that unlike publicans in other parts of the country, the vintners in Wexford had not introduced a price rise before Christmas.
The decision by the vintners in Wexford to put up their drink charges will now mean that the average cost of a pint of Guinness in the town will be £1.70, while a half one will cost £1.35
Mr Murphy added that all publicans are not obliged to impose the increase. ‘ The committee just told them what they must do to maintain their margins, but there is no hard and fast rule that they must increase their prices. But it would be in their own best interests to move,’ he said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department of Finance this week re-iterated Minister Bertie Ahern’s Budget warning to vintners.
She said that the Minister had warned that he could review his decision to leave drink tax alone if the publicans put an increase on the price of the pint themselves. ‘He said that he would treat the matter very seriously,’ she said.