Publicans hit out at 'poor timing' of increase in price of pint

Heineken Ireland, which is behind the likes of Beamish and Murphy's stout, as well as Moretti, Orchard Thieves, and Coors, told publicans it is to increase the price of a 50-litre keg from €169 to €185, before the addition of Vat. This works out at around an extra 17c per pint, a 9% increase, which will be effective from December 1.

The brewer attributed this to unprecedented cost increases across its supply chain, including in energy, packaging, and raw materials. Malt costs are up 120% and diesel has increased by 67%.

Publicans have hit out at the move, with the Vintners' Federation of Ireland (VFI) saying it is "extremely concerned" about the impact the move will have on the trade. 

"There is never a good time for such a price increase, but in the current climate, where everyone is feeling the impact of soaring costs, this is particularly poor timing," said VFI chief executive Paul Clancy.

"Due to the cost of doing business, most publicans will have to pass on the price increase to their customers."

Ernest Cantillon, owner of Sober Lane and Electric in Cork city, as well as the Kinsale Spirits distillery, said the hike is "frustrating but not unexpected".

While city centre pubs have long charged more than €6 for a pint, Mr Cantillon said these prices are likely to become the norm outside of urban areas too.

Paul Anderson, the owner of Dublin pubs The Bridge 1859 and Lemon & Duke, described the news as "a huge kick in the balls".

"This madness has to stop," he said. "This is simply insane."

The hike comes as increases in the price of food and energy are set to continue to plague households into the new year as inflation reaches its highest point in 38 years. 

Inflation in October reached 9.2%, according to the CSO, its highest level since June 1984. It had peaked in the summer at 9.1% and began to slide slightly, but there was a surge in the last month, driven by yet more hikes in the cost of household energy bills.

In the space of one month, the average household was hit with a 28.1% increase in the cost of electricity and a 35.5% increase in the cost of gas.

In the past 12 months, electricity has risen by over 70% while the cost of gas has almost doubled, rising by 93.3%.

A rise in housing costs is also hitting consumers, with private rents up 11.1% and mortgage interest up 14.9% in the last year.

Rising cost

The rising cost of food continues to hit households across the country, with double-digit percentage increases across many of the food items covered under the Consumer Price Index.

Food, overall, is up 10.8%. Bread is up 16%, poultry is up 17.6%, milk has risen by 25.4%, and butter is up almost 20%.

Dr Tricia Keilthy, head of social justice at St Vincent de Paul, said there is “a huge anxiety” among households who are reaching out, struggling to pay their bills and do their weekly grocery shop.

“The extra social welfare payments last week, and the ones coming, are giving some breathing space, and definitely going to make a difference,” she said. “But that’ll be gone pretty quickly for households. If you use [home heating] oil, you won’t even get a fill of it. People will be back to square one again, heading into a tough new year.”

Compounding the 9.2% inflation rate in the 12 months to October 2022 was the announcement from Bank of Ireland that it was raising its interest rates, meaning that new customers borrowing €300,000 could face almost €500 a year more on their monthly repayments.

It comes in the wake of recent increases by the European Central Bank, though the bank clarified that existing customers electing to move on to a fixed-rate product with the bank, and those rolling off fixed-rate periods, are not affected by the increase for the time being.