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VFI Statement In Respect of Budget 2011
06-December-2011
We warmly welcome the commitment today by Minister Noonan that legislation will be introduced in 2012 to address the issue of very cheap alcohol which is widely available in supermarkets. We encourage Minister Shorthall to legislate to deal with these issues as a matter of urgency.
This would go a long way in addressing the issue of irresponsible advertising, merchandising and promotion of alcohol by supermarkets.
Overall, this was a mixed budget for the pub trade which is experiencing extremely difficult times.
We had called for a reduction in excise but we welcome the decision by the Government not to impose any increases in this area. However, the increase in VAT to 23%, while well flagged a number of weeks ago, is unhelpful.
The route to recovery is to stimulate the domestic economy, not to further depress it. This VAT increase will act as a dampener on spending and will threaten jobs in the total retail sector.
The changes announced on Monday in respect of redundancy rebates will have a significant impact on those businesses trying to re-structure and keep their doors open. While there is sense in the measure in respect of large companies re-locating it will force other, small companies, to close rather than downsize
2011 was a very difficult year for the pub trade with a loss of 5,000 jobs. We still anticipate further closures in 2012 with additional further job losses.
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