IRELAND’S pubs were hit with their third price hike in a week today – heaping more costs on fed-up revellers.
The country’s second biggest brewer, Heineken, announced a rise of 6 cent in the cost of a pint from June 4 next after admitting failure in its efforts to absorb rising costs.
Publicans estimate the six cent increase will result in a 30 cent wallop to customers once the other factors including excise and profit margins are taken into account.
It follows a six cent increase from Diageo – which brews Guinness– on Monday and then a three per cent hike on pints of Bulmers and Tennents yesterday.
Heineken said the increase will apply to all their draught beers from Heineken itself to Coors lager to Beamish and Murphy’s stout.
The company blamed increased production costs for the hike.
Heineken said in a statement: “Due to continued increases in underlying costs we need to adjust our pricing on our draught products.
“A list price increase of three per cent – 6 cent per pint – will apply to our draught product range and will come into effect on June 4, 2024.
“Despite our ongoing efforts to increase productivity and reduce costs, it is impossible for us to absorb all of the increased costs that we have been faced with, and therefore we need to adjust our pricing.”
Publicans say the collective price increases will make it difficult for them to survive, especially in rural Ireland.
The Vitners Federation is now urging the Government to reduce the VAT in the hospitality sector from 13 down to nine per cent, to give them a break.
That’s what the state did to assist them during the Covid pandemic.
One publican said the price of all pints will now go up right across the board from 10 to 30 cents.
Another industry veteran said hard-pressed pub owners were being left to face the cost of the hikes by the brewing giants.
They told us: “The way people read this is misleading: they think we are the ones increasing the price of a pint, and we really aren’t.
“We’re desperate for there to be any promise of no increases for the rest of the year, for example, but that’s never going to happen.
“Coming so soon after a series of increases across the sector, it really does feel like a kick in the teeth at a time when we need it the least.
AGAINST THE TREND
A DUBLIN pub has confirmed they are slashing the price of a pint of Guinness to €5 and vowed: “We want to give something back to the people.”
The Crafty Fox on Camden Row are going against the trend of rising pint prices by reducing the cost of the black stuff by €1.40.
And General Manager Ronan Brady told the Irish Independent that they are making the move in the hopes that it will attract more people to the venue after a “tough year”.
He said: “Everyone is a bit tight for money, the cost of living is a bit much at the moment.
“We want to give something back to the people.
“We hope it works both ways, we hope it helps people and it helps business too.
“Guinness isn’t the only beverage we’ll sell at €5.
“We’re also doing a craft beer as well for a fiver, there’ll be rotational craft beers.
“We serve food too, we do a €15 noodle box, so we hope we’ll claw it back from other things as well.”
“And at the end of the day it’s the customer who will ultimately be hit, which is bad for everyone.”
And despite yet ANOTHER hike on the price of a pint, Ireland ranks third in the world for the number of pubs per person.
Latest figures show that despite a decline in the number of watering holes, we’re still spoiled for choice compared to most other nations.
Three in four of us live within walking distance to the nearest pub, Health Research Board figures reveal.
Yet hard-pressed drinkers making the trip continue to be hit by soaring costs despite the industry remaining buoyant in terms of the number of pubs.
