Budget drink price rise of 10c would raise €140m
Monday November 30 2009
We're being told to brace ourselves for the harshest Budget yet next week -- prescription charges, hospital fee hikes, cuts in social welfare and child benefit. And they are just the ones we know about.
But for all the leaks, one area that hasn't been flagged -- even though it could raise revenue and improve the health of the nation -- is alcohol.
This year more than ever is a chance for the Government to end the drought which has been the mark of so many Budgets when it comes to extra taxes on alcohol.
Although it often comes under the banner of 'old reliable' in post-Budget coverage, along with cigarettes, the reality is that the pint no longer fits that category on closer inspection.
Remarkably, over the past 15 years there have only been three increases in excise duty on alcohol.
These included cider (2001), spirits (2002) and wine (October 2008), with the last excise duty increase on beer as far back as 1994.
During the same 15 years it was learned that the number of patients admitted to St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin with liver-related conditions has increased five-fold.
Next to cigarettes and high blood pressure, alcohol is the third highest risk factor for death and disability.
Will the Government be able to grasp the nettle this year? Alcohol Action Ireland has estimated that a paltry 10c increase on alcohol would generate €140m -- enough to save health services under threat or spare needy families cuts in child benefit.
If this was combined with the setting of a minimum hike of €1 per unit of alcohol the positive effect would be incalculable.
In the past decade alcohol has become more affordable in all EU states except Italy. In six countries, including Ireland, affordability of alcohol rose by 50pc or more. This was mostly due to rising incomes, but 16pc was driven by price.
The evidence is irrefutable: a one per cent increase in affordability results in a 0.32pc rise in consumption. A one per cent increase in per-capita consumption of alcohol is linked to a rise in fatal traffic accidents and also a 0.37pc rise in liver cirrhosis.
A meaningful taxation on alcohol would also be a way for the Government to gain credibility after the watering down of the proposed drink-driving legislation.
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey is on record as saying he would have preferred tougher drink-driving legislation but said the "greater good" had been served by reducing the blood-alcohol limit from 80mg to 50mg per decilitre (dL).
He had to tone down the Road Traffic Bill 2009, with a decision instead that drivers caught with between 50mg/dL and 80mg/dL would receive three rather than six penalty points and a €200 fine.
- Eilish O'Regan
Irish Independent
