BYCOLM BRADLEY

Pint drinkers in Fermanagh may see a price hike of 20p per pint hitting their pockets soon.

Marshall Coulter, who is Chairman of the Fermanagh Vintners Society and owner of the Horseshoe Bar in Belmore Street, explained that the hike, following the recent Budget, was out of their control as vintners themselves have been hit with a double whammy within the space of six weeks;

"There was a price increase from the wholesalers about five weeks ago", he said, " which we had not yet passed onto the consumer and, now, with this rise in tax imposed by the budget, we will have to pass on both price hikes at the one time, but it really is out of our hands."

And, it is the budget which has caused most consternation in the drinks' industry. UK consumers now pay more tax on wine than anyone else in the European Union. Alistair Darling's first budget as Chancellor has also seen as increase in taxes on alcohol of 6 per cent above inflation, reflected in the rise in a 70cl bottle of spirits by 55p, an increase of 4p on a pint of beer, 14p on a bottle of cider and 14p on a bottle of wine.

Alcohol concern groups have welcomed the news, but Mannix Magee of the Solace group which is based in Irvinestown and deals with addiction within the community, suggested that it is society that needed to change in order to tackle the drink culture that he sees prevalent;

"It is like anything: no one measure is going to tackle or solve the issue completely. Budgeting can have an effect, but we must accept that we need to change our attitude to alcohol and how we consume it."

Mannix went on to explain that three main things had affected the way in which we drink, namely cost, availability and individual responsibility.

And, Marshall Coulter agrees with Mr Magee's appraisal and indeed he questions the whole strategy of the government, particularly in the areas of cost and availability. And, he went on to explain the almost complete reversal in drinking habits since he first came into the business.

"In my opinion, the government is taxing on-trade drinking far too much. When I first started, 75% of drinking was on trade drinking (drinking in a licensed premises). Now, that has almost been reversed, with 66-70% of drinking now off trade."

And, Mr Coulter is clear where in the drinks industry he thinks the government should target.

"They should be looking at strategies that clearly target under-age drinkers. Supermarkets are able to sell alcohol for no profit or even a loss, and I feel the government should be targeting this sort of selling."

Mr Coulter's claims certainly seem well borne out when one considers that a leading supermarket was able to sell twelve 440ml cans of beer for £2.26 last week. This is less than it costs to park your car in one of Enniskillen's 'pay and display' car parks for eight hours.

The difference between tax on a bottle of cider and a litre of cider is a huge, at 11p.

This, many publicans are saying, is evidence that the government is not serious about cutting down on the binge drinking culture but more concerned with targeting drinking in pubs.

But, Mannix Magee warns that while underage drinking and the availability of cheap booze are issues which need to be addressed, he is worried that we tend to trivialise other drink-related problems;

"There is no doubt that we have an acceptance of alcohol which is dangerous. We look at it as a way to unwind after a long week's work. We see ourselves as being deserving of going out and having a large number of drinks on a Friday evening. There are other ways to unwind, and we need to stop being so dependant on alcohol," he added.