Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 251: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will reduce the excise duty charged per bottle of wine and particularly on wine sold in restaurants or hotels and consumed with meals in view of the crisis in the hospitality industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33098/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I would draw to the Deputy attention to the fact that before Budget 2009, excise duty on wine remained unchanged since the Budget of 1994. The growth in the consumption of wine has been strong over the last ten years particularly relative to other alcohol products. It should also be noted the excise on wine remains considerably lower than excise on spirits.

The alcohol products tax content of a bottle of wine was 30.6% of the retail price in 1994 and following Budget 2009 is now 25.7%. Under EU legislation, Member States must levy the same excise duty on all still wine products and the same excise duty on all sparkling wine products. It is therefore not possible to differentiate excise duty on wine according to where it is sold or consumed.