Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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615. To ask the Minister for Finance to consider a proposal (details supplied) and allow for a draught excise rebate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40775/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Excise duty on alcohol is governed by EU law, with which Irish excise law is obliged to conform. The “Alcohol Structures Directive” (Council Directive 92/83/EEC) lays down a harmonised approach to excise duties on alcohol in the EU. It defines alcoholic beverages and sets out the basis on which excise duties on such products are to be established by Member States as well as the conditions for the application of reduced rates and special regimes. In Ireland, the excise duty takes the form of Alcohol Products Tax (APT) as provided for in Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 2003 (as amended).

The rate of APT applying to a particular alcoholic beverage depends on the category it falls within and its alcohol content which is expressed as the percentage of volume. Reduced APT rates can only be applied in limited circumstances, the main ones being for lower strength products and for independent small breweries or producers of cider and perry, and these types of relief, which are allowed under the Directive, have already been introduced into Ireland's legislation as a feature of our APT regime. The Directive does not allow scope for the taxation of beer or cider to be based on packaging format (such as different rates for kegs versus bottles or cans) nor on the point of consumption (such as different rates depending on whether consumed in licensed premises). Therefore, an excise rebate in respect of draught alcohol sold in pubs would not be compatible with the Directive.

Finally, the details provided by the Deputy refer to the level of tax inherent in the selling price of a pint of stout. The table below sets out data relating to beer (the excise category that includes stout) showing its retail price and the relevant taxes in 2014 and 2024. The table shows that, while the retail price of beer rose over the period, the excise duty remained unchanged and, therefore, the total tax as a percentage of the retail price of each pint is now lower than it was more than a decade ago.

Table: Retail Price of Beer, and tax as % of price

* Based on National Average Retail Price data, CSO.

** Assumes alcohol strength (abv) of 4.3%.

Source: Revenue