Backing required to develop export potential of Irish beer, whiskey and other drinks

Realising the potential of Ireland’s alcoholic drinks sector will require supportive policy conditions from Government and regulators, a new report has found.

“Ireland’s excise rates remain among the highest in the EU for beer, wine and spirits, placing a burden on producers,” states a report by Indecon on behalf of Drinks Ireland, a unit of employers’ lobby group Ibec.

“Addressing this, alongside ensuring regulatory clarity and consistency at EU level, would strengthen the operating environment for Irish drinks producers and support long-term investment.”

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Export sales from the State amount to €2.1 billion, which is the equivalent of about 2.5 per cent of global alcohol exports. So the country punches above its weight on the global stage.

Irish drinks exports have “expanded rapidly into emerging markets”, with growth in India, China, Mexico, Nigeria, and South Africa since 2015, the report notes.

There are about 200 producers across the island, including almost 50 active whiskey distilleries, more than 100 beer and cider producers, nine “well-established” Irish cream liqueur facilities and about 45 gin producers, alongside poitín and other spirit makers.

This would include Diageo, the maker of Guinness and other beers and spirits, and Irish Distillers, which produces Jameson whiskey and is part of the global Pernod Ricard group.

Highlighting its regional spread, about 92 per cent of whiskey distilleries and 85 per cent of breweries and cider producers are located outside Dublin.

The report notes that over the past 15 years, whiskey case-sale volumes have increased from about five million annually in 2010 to about 16 million in 2025, with Irish cream liqueur exports reaching almost 10 million cases, up from seven million in 2014.

Some 160 alcohol drink producers in the State generate €3.2 billion in combined turnover and employ 4,222 workers between them.

Another 948 are employed in tourism, in the visitor centres for various producers, while downstream employment in the hospitality and retail sectors amounts to more than 20,000 staff.

The sector also buys €691 million worth of goods in the State, including thousands of dairy farmers, apple growers and tillage producers.

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It generates €1.2 billion directly in excise revenue for the State, alongside €1.4 billion in VAT receipts.

This is the first time the sector has been analysed in this way in more than 10 years, and comes at a time when producers are facing rising business costs and uncertainty around international trade and tariffs.

It said its trade priorities were a prompt implementation of the removal of US tariffs on Irish whiskey (announced by President Donald Trump at the recent Irish Open golf tournament at his Doonbeg course) and a return to the zero tariff arrangement on Irish beer and spirits in the US.

Claire Tolan, chairwoman of Drinks Ireland, said the report puts a “clear figure on what the Irish drinks sector contributes to our economy, and the significant story behind it. From family-run craft producers and world-renowned beer, whiskey, and cream liqueur brands, to the farmers, hospitality businesses, retailers, and tourism operators, this is a sector with deep roots right across the island and an extraordinary global reach.”