Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 148:

In page 130, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 78A of Finance Act 2003 (relief for small breweries)

40.Section 78A of the Finance Act 2003 is amended in subsection (1)(a) by substituting “60,000 hectolitres” for “40,000 hectolitres with effect from 1 January 2019”.”.

I commend the amendment to the Minister. This applies to a small number of microbreweries which are at the point of sustainability and where the extra allowance would add to their sustainability and viability. We are talking about a very small number of microbreweries which are in an intermediate phase, so the cost to the Exchequer would not be in any way significant and, at a certain stage of development, it would allow these breweries to get an additional advantage. There are a number of examples of companies that are currently at an intermediate stage and employ up to 100 people each, but they are at their limit. In addition, there are four or five breweries employing 100 employees or more and, allowing for current trends, they will be at their limit within 12 months.

I believe the industry favours the incremental increase which has been set out in this amendment so that progress is sustainable and targeted to the domestic brewing industry. This is an industry that has a vital connection to tourism all around Ireland. The interesting thing about the microbreweries is that they have brought employment and economic development prospects to areas which have not had much foreign direct investment. The same could be said, of course, about the distilleries, in particular the specialised brands of whiskey and gin being developed. They have become very fashionable and have taken off with many younger drinkers, and they are a feature of an Irish holiday for many tourists.

I can understand that the Minister and his officials might be rather cautious about this but I am sure they have done the maths. The cost of this change is extremely modest but it would allow developing businesses in the sector which are at a critical development stage to continue to expand and, in that way, to become embedded and to have much stronger prospects for continued viability, growth and success.