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

Our approach has been to stimulate the industry in general, which included a reduction in VAT, the initiatives of The Gathering and the Wild Atlantic Way and the abolition of the travel tax, which resulted in an enormous amount of additional tourists coming into the country. That has been the general approach.

In regard to excise rates and the percentage charged in this regard in terms of the price of a pint, excise duty is now lower in percentage terms than it was in the early 1990s. There were no excise duty increases for many years. If I remember correctly, excise duty was reduced in 2009 or 2010. The only increase was applied last year. As I said, the proportion of the cost attributable to excise duty is lower now than it was in the early 1990s.

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