Cigarettes and pints up by 10 cent, wine up by 50 cent

If you smoke or drink, enjoy the price for the next nine hours or so – it is rising at midnight.

FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, the price of cigarettes and alcohol will go up.

Budget 2014 was expected to bring increases in excise duty and Michael Noonan today delivered, announcing:

A 10 cent increase on a packet of 20 cigarettes
A 10 cent increase on the price of a pint of beer, cider or a standard measure of spirits
50 cent extra on a 75cl bottle of wine

The move comes after last year’s €1 duty on wine, which raised €45 million in the last year.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said that he knew that the move would affect vintners, but said that the move “must be considered in the context of the retention of the 9 per cent VAT rate on food and hospitality“.

The Vintners Federation of Ireland called the move “a kick in the teeth”, saying that the move will “put pressure on an already fragile industry”.

Read: LIVEBLOG: Budget 2014 as it happens

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