The price of a pint in many of Ireland's local pubs could be set for a rise as the hospitality industry recovers from the sporadic closures due to Covid restrictions over the past two years.
The Vinters Federation of Ireland (VFI) has said the increasing cost of energy bills and the cost impacts of Covid would likely drive up prices.
Charges from suppliers are also expected to increase, leaving publicans with no choice but to pass the costs onto customers.
Some establishments have already decided to implement an increase bringing the cost of a pint up by 20 cent.
The new prices could now see Guinness going from €5.00 to €5.20 and lager increasing from €5.30 to €5.50 a pint.
Spokesman Brian Foley for the VFI told the Irish Mirror: "There is a general increase in the cost of living across the board, so it will be difficult for pubs and the wider hospitality sector to avoid such a scenario. Suppliers are increasing their prices while energy costs are soaring.
"The past two years created obvious challenges where pubs were closed or traded with severe restrictions, while staff shortages will continue to be a problem for the remainder of the year and will result in wage increases for experienced staff.
"The good news is that customers recognise that pubs provide a great service with a warm and friendly atmosphere, so it's great to see people returning to them in large numbers over the past two weeks."
Other pubs have said the costs incurred by having to recruit extra staff for table service and investing money in outdoor areas would mean an increase in pint prices.
Kavanagh's bar in Naas said: "We increased [the price] a little bit since Covid because we did a lot of work with outdoor spaces. We had to increase staff over Covid as well because we had floor service, and we obviously weren't taking in as much.
"Just the general ups and downs - closing, opening, closing - so to cover all that we increased [the price]."
