Publicans want 15% levy on off licence sales....

Are the VFI actually looking for compensation out of this proposed levy? A few comments seem to suggest they have but when i read the article it seemed they wanted the 15% to go to sporting organisations.

Either way these lads are daft. They remind me of the record industry. They had a nice cushy gig for years but the world keeps on changing and they point blank refused to change with it, trying to bully and coerce us all into sticking to their business strategy, wailing about everything and anything when we don't.

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Except banks, insurance, farms, airlines, and so on.
Despite having slightly socialist leanings myself, i think large swathes of this country could do with a good hard dose of capitalism - it's called fúcking reality people - if the shít you peddle offers little or no value to consumers they won't want to buy it. Governments should have more backbone than to bend to the whims of these fúckwits - adapt or die end of story.

Real capitalism is brilliant IMO. Many people who claim to be capitalist gave many anti capitalist ideas.

B0X wrote: »

This is illegal unfortunately. If you're changing the price of your drinks during the day they can only go up.

There are a few easy ways to get around the happy hour laws, e.g. have a beer than the barman only gets around to connecting the keg up at 5pm and then increases in price at 6 or 7pm.

Padraig Cribben, chief executive of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), said that in 2005 a slab of beer advertised in newspapers the week before St Patrick's Day was "on offer" at €37.98.

"The similar slab of beer is now being sold for €24 in the same supermarket. It is clear they are selling below cost.

Absolute bollocks, making the public out to be morons. This is no proof that its below cost, all you have to do is look up wholesalers online to see that when you have these big reductions its usually since its passed on by the manufacturers.

In the UK they government investigated the idea of banning below cost selling to curb alcohol problems, they discovered only a few beers, like 3-5 were being sold below cost, and these were oddball, non-mainstream beers.

The stupid publicans are being overcharged by distributors I do not doubt that, but these idiots make out like heineken etc charge the exact same price to them as they do to supermarkets.

Dravokivich wrote: »

type thing because people generally wouldn't buy enough of anything else with Beers/Ciders to make up the difference.

Especially in convenience stores, I said earlier my centra had 20x330ml Heineken for €15, most people I saw getting it just got that, they were certainly not getting a weeks shopping with it. On publican claimed to pay €35 to distributors for 24, not sure if that even included VAT.

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I'd love to be paying only a fiver for a pint. Paying the equivalent of 7.84 here in New Plymouth!!!
$8.50 for 425ml, can't even get a pint :mad:

What fresh hell is this??!

Couldn't agree more with that Heroditas, in a former life I used to manage bars and the last place I worked in turned into a running battle with some of the regulars who wanted to watch Eastenders and Coronations St down the pub. The owner let them watch it if he was on but I was having none of it as I knew well it would frighten new customers off. They complained to the boss and suddenly I was getting grief for trying to run the pub correctly. That was five years ago but sometimes now I drop in. The regulars are still watching their soaps from 7-9pm, all four of them with the rest of the shop completely empty.

Anyway I see the publicans are shouting again this morning at their conference, they're trying to pressure the government into fixing prices. Seeing as they convinced Brian Lenehan to shut off licenses at 10pm under the guise of combatting underage drinking it wouldn't surprise me if FG relent and help them maintain their cosy cartel.

What the actual furk difference does it make to publicans who does or doesn't sponsor sports teams?? This is more window-licking idiocy from that direction, largely stemming from the fact that half the fools in Leinster House are also publicans. This particular industry was always out with forks when it was raining soup, and it's high-time they were left to fend for themselves.

Stephen Fast Missile wrote: »

It's not a viable option for the majority of pubs and also there are people who want to watch the lower league game, follow something on skysports news or follow some other sport that you might have no interest in. In general I like having something on in the background when I go into a pub that you can glance up at every now and then.

I also know the owner of a city centre pub and they tried to go without sky for a short while but it just wasn't an option they were losing a massive amount of business when there were rugby and soccer matches on.

Yes I find it's the same all over the world.
Where I live in Canada, there's always hockey, baseball, basketball, NFL, CFL, soccer, UFC etc on multiple TVs all around the bars but the volume is always down unless it's a supporters pub or there's a cover charge.
This is the best idea IMO. That way people can watch a game but can talk too.
A happy medium.

the groutch wrote: »

If pubs want more business they should try charging reasonable prices for soft drinks.
When a "pint" (including ice) of a soft drink is more expensive than a pint of beer there is something seriously wrong.

A fair few pubs in the US have free soft drink, to keep the designated driver happy. And I have never been charged for the mixer on top of the cost of the liquor in the US or Canada, and those bars seem to be doing plenty of business!

This again? The trouble is that the VFI and publicans are refusing to face up to the fact that Irish society is changing and alcohol consumption has fallen almost continuously for a decade now. People are drinking less alcohol no mater where they buy it from. Irish alcohol consumption levels have fallen by nearly 20% in the last ten years and it's continuing to drop.

super_furry wrote: »

This again? The trouble is that the VFI and publicans are refusing to face up to the fact that Irish society is changing and alcohol consumption has fallen almost continuously for a decade now. People are drinking less alcohol no mater where they buy it from. Irish alcohol consumption levels have fallen by nearly 20% in the last ten years and it's continuing to drop.

It's also the pattern of consumption that has changed. People don't necessarily see the pub as the only venue where they can have a drink. More and more people will go out for a meal and have a few drinks during it. Even places like Counter burger restaurant or some of the Burrito bars serve beers.
Cafe bars and gastro pubs also offer new possibilities to people.
People don't want to sit in a dingy dark bar that stinks of farts and stagnant water with ripped seats that has effectively an open sewer for a toiler with no toilet paper or running water. Yet many publicans seem to think that fixing prices elsewhere or hanging up a few more TVs will bring the business back in.
Hilarious really.