Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

These all are legitimate concerns. We would be conscious of the cross-Border issue. Of course, we are operating on two axes on the cross-Border issue: the excise, which we control, but also the variations in the relative value of sterling, which is probably a bigger driver. At present, the latter is moving in the wrong direction in terms of cross-Border trade. We have to watch the two. One we can control; the other we cannot.

On the respectable wine sellers around the country, the point I made about it being a flat-rate excise increase rather than on volume is that it impacts more on the cheap wine sales out of the local garage or the supermarket, and it is not as big an imposition on those who are selling quality wines. Those I know in the trade tell me that since the recession started it is difficult to sell a bottle in normal times above €15, but they see €15 as the benchmark. The benchmark in the other trade we are talking about is approximately €7. The high-quality wine sellers will be able to absorb this without much effect on their trade because their average prices are much higher.