A BRITISH politician has urged the Irish Government to cut excise duty on the price of a pint.
Liberal Democrat politician Greg Mulholland made the comments yesterday during a trip to Ireland, where he spoke to an Oireachtas committee about the positive impact cutting out excise duty has had in Britain.
Mr Mulholland, an avid campaigner for the local pubs sector, was accompanied to the meeting by Pádraig Cribben, the chief executive of the Vintners Federation of Ireland - an organisation who campaign for the same.
He told the Oireachtas group that hiking the excise duty on alcohol in Britain in the post-2008 economic downturn had damaged both the brewing and pub industries.
In the years since, excise duty on alcohol has been cut three times in Britain – and Mr Mulholland, an MP for Leeds North West, said there was “clear evidence” that beer duty cuts can increase investment and employment within the industry.
“It lowered the price of a pint by 16p, which resulted in 750 million more pints being sold,” he said.
In his address, Mr Mulholland also condemned supermarkets for selling alcohol at below-average prices, which is taking business away from the pubs.
