An off licence in Enniskillen RMG02
SOUTHERN trade could begin flowing back into Fermanagh in 2016, with thirsty punters flocking across the border to stock up on their drink.
Local off-licences look set for a bonanza year ahead as people head north for their booze to avoid a massive hike in southern drink prices, with traders in the county hoping the influx will help off-set the trade lost by the strong Sterling during 2015.
Alcohol is already better value in the North, with the difference in a bottle of wine being as much £10 from one side of the border to the other, but with the Dublin government recently announcing plans to introduce minimum drinks pricing that would see the retail cost of alcohol in southern off-licences soar, it looks likely that the difference in cost will soon far outweigh the exchange rate.
The Public Health Alcohol Bill will see the end of low-priced drinks promotions and a new scheme of pricing drinks according to alcohol content, charged at a minimum 10c per gram of alcohol. While this will have little affect on the price of drinks in bars, under the new plan the average bottle of wine in a retail outlet would be €7.40, the average cost of a can of beer would be almost €2, and a bottle of whiskey would €22.
In some cases, where the current cost is relatively low, the rise in price will be much higher. For example, the cost of a Tesco bottle of vodka could jump from €12.99 to €20.71.
Health bodies aren’t the only ones welcoming the new plans. With many drinkers living in southern border counties and beyond vowing to travel to the north to buy their alcohol if the legislation comes into force, off-licences and retailers here are hoping to recoup some of the cross-border business that fell away when the Sterling surged against the Euro this year.
Marshall Coulter, chairman of the Fermanagh Vintners’ Association, said: “Hopefully it will help bring people back if it passes, but only time will tell. Hopefully we’ll get a boost from it if it happens. The exchange rate hasn’t helped in recent times, so it would be good if this could counter that.”
Mr Coulter added, however, that if the bill was successfully enacted in the South it could open the door for similar legislation in the North. Tommy Owens of Bottle Stop in Enniskillen also said minimum drinks pricing “could be coming down the road” from Stormont, but cautiously welcomed the affect the legislation in the South could have on trade in Fermanagh.
“It’s hard to know with the way the Euro is at the moment, but it should have a positive effect on us up here,” he said. “If people think they can get a better deal, they will come, but they will be considering if it will even out with the Euro exchange rate.
“We’ll have to wait and see if it comes in, and if it does, what happens with the Euro. Southern trade is certainly down due to the Euro, but maybe this will bring it back again.”
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