Thursday 26 March 2015

You WILL Drink In The Pub, Godammit!

The Irish licensed trade has come up with an ingenious business plan ... it's cosying up to government drink-haters to welcome consumers back to the pub by force.
In a move clearly targeted at the big supermarket chains, where cans of lager are routinely offered for below €1 each in bulk deals, the group called for a floor price of €1 “or more” to be introduced on every 10 grams of alcohol in a product. 
That would put the minimum retail price of a 500ml can of beer with a 5% alcohol concentration at €2.
So, Ireland already boasts (if that's the word) the most expensive alcohol in the EU apart from Finland, but these guys want to see the Irish public screwed even harder to nobble their competition?
LVA chief executive Donal O’Keeffe said the price had to be set high enough to have a “significant impact on consumption patterns”.
In other words, to stop people buying their booze from the supermarket where his members can't get their mitts on it.

You've got to feel sorry for yer average Irishman. Having only recently been rid of a law which put control of what they paid for their groceries firmly in the hands of those who supply it - resulting in no meaningful competition and higher prices for consumers - now their pub trade blames the repeal for why they are seeing fewer and fewer customers and so advocates a return to resale price maintenance. Or, as it should rightfully be described, a rip off cartel which is so damaging for household budgets that it is illegal in many jurisdictions.

Still, why should O'Keeffe and his members care, eh?

I've got news for you, guys. The reason people aren't using pubs so much any more is that you have an unnecessarily draconian smoking ban and much stiffened drink driving laws in the past decade. Barriers to enjoyment presented by those government initiatives do not exist when the beer is bought in a supermarket and consumed at home with a nice takeaway. The price differential is just an added bonus. Even if prices were raised to €2 per pint it's far cheaper than the €5 a boozer charges and still - this is the significant bit, lads - without the pettifogging rules.

You see, it is big government which has got you into this mess, so the answer really isn't more big government. Meanwhile, the Irish LVA's vapid support of the unsatisfiable temperance lobby proposal places them firmly into the category of useful idiots, which won't make a jot of difference when prohibitionists move onto demanding breathalysers for pub customers, the banning of buying of rounds and of happy hours, and - yes - minimum pricing for pub drinks too.

I shall, once again, quote the inestimable Crampton.
It's like a bunch of folks on the scaffolds complaining that the other guy's noose isn't quite tight enough. Y'all might instead direct your attention to the hangman sometime and try helping each other cut those ropes.
Eejits.


7 comments:

Mark.S. said...

Well this chap sounds like he a deep understanding of his chosen profession.!
I'm sure he saw the smoking ban as something boost the coffers as well.

Séan Billings said...

They actually banned happy hour years ago.

Curmudgeon said...

And of course this doesn't recognise the point that however dear you make off-trade beer, it doesn't give people any more money to spend in the on-trade. Indeed it's been suggested that it could reduce on-trade consumption because of the negative effect on household budgets.


To be honest, even if pubs were giving beer away free, if you can't smoke indoors and can only legally have one pint anyway, there might not seem much point in going at all.

Jack Listerio said...

Total backdoor prohibition. Like all great peoples we will just rebuild the smoke/speak easy for the masses

JonathanBagley said...

And home brewing is regaining popularity - probably due to the emergence of hundreds of micro breweries.

Jack Listerio said...

JB the leftist news media here in America is starting to go after spring break in florida on all the college kids.
Theyd do it but for one reason the same a what they did to England in 2002 hen they put on BBC they were going after all the front street binge drunks in the streets and pubs across the country in townships with aka FRONT STREETS..........Now they are after Americas party goers...........

Jack Listerio said...

I think a lot has to do with the current prohibition atmosphere people are afraid of alcohol being illegal before long. Especially that swinging leftist at John Adams beer brewery..............he will learn too the hard way!