Fury over latest price hike as pubs 'won't be able to cope'

PUBLICANS have blasted the latest hike in the price of a pint.

- BY CATHAL RYAN

Diageo confirmed yesterday that the price of a pint of Guinness will rise by 7c and Guinness 0.0 by 10c.

The hike will kick in on February 2 - just as punters doing Dry January think about heading back to their favourite watering holes.

It is estimated that a 7c increase would translate to a 20c rise in prices "at the pump", when VAT is included.

Publicans said drink costs are the single biggest cost facing all publicans and this latest increase comes at a time when margins are already being eroded by rising labour costs, high energy prices and ongoing inflation across all areas of the business. And they warned that for many pubs, there is no capacity left to absorb further supplier increases.