Mr. Donall O'Keeffe:

May I add one point from a Dublin perspective on the food issue. Food is critical to the future of a Dublin pub. There is no debate about it. We have the benefit of footfall over and above that of rural areas. In suburbia in particular, if one does not have a decent food offer one will have no business. Food has gone from 10% of turnover to 30% on a market basis. In ten years it will grow to 50% and in the next five years it will grow and grow because lifestyles are changing. People are out more. The pub is well placed; it is casual, convenient, competitively priced and one can pop in and out quickly and easily. Pubs are well positioned to exploit that lifestyle change. Commercial progressive publicans are doing that. As lifestyles are changing, people are not just going out to eat and separately to drink; they are eating and drinking together. They have one drink with their meal on a Tuesday night for which pubs are well placed. In urban centres, up and down the country, pub food and food in pubs will grow pretty rapidly in the next five years. By and large that is local business. As each individual business deals with local suppliers, the local butcher, the local wholesalers it is good for the local economy and is a positive development within the industry.

On the issue of growing the industry going forward and our general competitiveness, I would emphasise the Government's role in terms of the impact of tax on our competitiveness. We operate in the discretionary end of the economy. One does not have to go to a pub, it is a discretionary spend. In the past three years, excise and VAT have put 28 cent on a pint, the publican has put 4 cent and the brewers has put 4 cent. These are CSO figures, not industry figures. In the middle of a deep recession with huge pressure on disposable cash and low consumer confidence 28 cent tax was imposed on the price of a pint at a time when the industry showed ferocious restraint. There has been one price increase from the industry point of view in six years. It is clear from Fáilte Ireland research that the price of drink in Ireland is a significant issue, it is a significant negative, but we have the highest excise tax in Europe. There is a 23% VAT rate on alcohol so the Government takes more than 30% of the retail price of drink in pubs, hotels and restaurants across the country. We have repeatedly commended the Government for its VAT rate of 9% on tourism related products. We benefit from that on our food offer so that VAT rate on pub food is 9%. In an unusual situation, VAT on food was reduced to stimulate competitiveness at a time when VAT and excise on alcohol was increasing. Given that the economic outlook appears a little rosier going forward, we think the case for a reversal of some of the excise increases is very strong.