PUBLICANS are planning a push to make restoring the VAT rate on food back to nine per cent an election issue.
Hospitality bosses claim the current rate of 13.5 per cent has been damaging.
The Licensed Vintners Association say that it has forced businesses to raise menu prices.
The organisation said the average Dublin pub sees 35 per cent of its turnover from food, rising to 50 per cent for food-focused pubs across the capital.
The previous nine per cent rate had been in place for ten of the last 12 years before being scrapped last September.
There will be a motion in the Dail next week on the issue and the impact it has had.
With local and European Elections this summer, the LVA and its members will begin writing to Dublin’s public representatives on the nine per cent rate.
Donall O’Keeffe, CEO of the LVA, said: “The simple fact of the matter is that the Government should never have increased the VAT rate for food last year.
“It immediately pushed the level of taxation applied to food up by 50 per cent and that had an instant knock on impact on menu prices.
“The public didn’t like that and neither did the wider hospitality sector.
“Customer spending on out of home meals is discretionary and it is influenced by pricing, especially in an already volatile cost of living environment.
“So, that Government instigated increase was damaging to the hospitality sector, our wider tourism sector and it is having really significant consequences for food led businesses.
“The Government are now seeing the impact of that decision. There are hospitality businesses having to shut their doors for good on a near daily basis.
“Raising the VAT rate on food and then quickly following that up with the imposition of other mandatory costs for small, low margin businesses such as the increased minimum wage, the increased sick leave entitlements, the extra employers’ PRSI and the pension auto-enrolment is making the trading environment extremely challenging and the Government needs to recognise that fact.
‘Help focus minds’
“We have seen a number of politicians already speak up on this issue and say that the nine per cent VAT rate on food should be restored.
“Accordingly, we will be writing to all the public representatives across the capital and asking them to simply state whether they support a reduced VAT rate for food or not.
“The politicians can also expect to hear from the publicans in their respective constituencies on this matter.”
Mr O’Keeffe said he hoped this “will help focus minds”.
He added: “The industry is crying out for this issue to be addressed and the politicians would be wise to reflect on that matter in an election year and with a General Election also on the horizon.”