Pubs slam discount as a pintless gesture..

Bosses ‘livid’ at Heineken’s 7c off offer.. after hiking price by 17c

- SEAN MURPHY

LIVID pub bosses have accused Heineken of “adding insult to injury” by offering a three-month 7c pint discount to offset its 17c price hike.

Industry sources claim it “is just throwing scraps at the problem” and will not stop some bars dumping the brand.

They have compared the move to that of Diageo which has vowed to freeze prices for three months.

Heineken emailed disgruntled publicans two days ago after some removed the lager from their premises.

They had announced a controversial plan on November 9 for a 17c increase from next Thursday.

However some pub bosses urged them to withdraw the hike, claiming the real cost could be as much as 25c to 50c.

Heineken Ireland said it had “listened to the response from our individual customers”.

A source told the Irish Mirror the email said: “We all live in uncertain times and cost inflationary pressures are unfortunately unavoidable for all of us.” It added that the company faces “significant pressure” and “had no choice but to take the decision to mitigate part of these soaring inflationary cost pressures we are experiencing via an increase on the keg price”.