IRISH DRINKS SECTOR AT RISK AS IRELAND CONTINUES TO BE A EUROPEAN OUTLIER ON ALCOHOL TAX

GOVERNMENT DELAY TO LABELLING RULES WELCOME, BUT UNCERTAINTY REMAINS

Monday 29th September 2025, 20:00:

The National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) has awarded its annual Irish Wine Show Star Awards to 55 wines this evening. Now in its 24th year, the event  was hosted at the Hilton Charlemont in Dublin. The winning wines from the Irish Wine Show Star Awards will be available to consumers from NOffLA outlets across Ireland.

High alcohol excise putting Irish retailers at risk

At the event, NOffLA expressed the strong concern of its members that Ireland continues to levy the second highest excise on wine across the EU and UK. They emphasised that they hope to see a reduction in excise duty as part of Budget 2026, which will help ease the high cost burdens experienced by many independent off-licences in the last year. NOffLA, along with the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) has called for a 10% excise rate reduction in Budget 2026 to bring Ireland’s alcohol excise regime in line with European levels and to also help protect the commercial viability of businesses within the Irish drinks sector, particularly during a time of global economic uncertainty.

Speaking at the Awards, Gary O’Donovan, ex Chairman of NOffLA said: “We are delighted to honour the outstanding wines that NOffLA members sell across the country and that our wonderful customers enjoy. I want to congratulate all of the winners this evening and thank everyone who submitted an application this year.”

“Unfortunately, Irish drinks sector businesses are burdened with the second highest levels of alcohol excise in the EU and UK, and excise increases from a decade ago remain in place and continue to impact these small, independent businesses. This is particularly disappointing given that Minimum Unit Pricing, which ensures alcohol cannot be sold at dangerously low prices, has been in place for several years meaning that Ireland’s punitively high excise levels are no longer justified from a public health perspective.

We are calling for an excise reduction to be included in Budget 2026 next week to recognise the pressures and increasingly uncertain economic conditions these businesses now face.”

Renewed call for an EU approach to labelling regulations

NOffLA also addressed the government’s recent decision to postpone the implementation of mandatory alcohol health warning labels, which had been due to come into effect in May 2026 under section 12 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018. While NOffLA welcomed the postponement, they also renewed their call for Ireland to align its approach with the EU to avoid placing unnecessary burdens on the Irish drinks industry.

Mr O’Donovan added that “We welcome the delay to the implementation of the Alcohol Labelling regulations under the Public Health (Alcohol) Act that was announced earlier this year. However, we continue to call for the Government to follow a harmonised EU approach to alcohol labelling. A coordinated European framework would prevent Irish businesses being placed at a competitive disadvantage compared to their European counterparts and ensure consistency across the Single Market.”

Winners of this year’s Star Awards

In excess of 600 wines were submitted to the Star Award adjudication panel of NOffLA judges and independent wine journalists. Points were awarded on the basis of appearance, smell, taste and value for money criteria, and the winning 55 were selected as the best wines from key suppliers across a number of price categories.

Each of the winning wines will be sold in NOffLA member outlets across the country and will be recognisable by distinctive Award symbols on each bottle. In the pre-Christmas period NOffLA members will promote the Irish Wine Show Star Awards 2025-2026 Collection as ideal Christmas gifts, in a variety of special gift packs.