Government ignores concerns of businesses over latte levy at their peril

This State is now one of the most coffee-obsessed in Europe — more than three-quarters of Irish consumers drink coffee each day, according to industry research. If a construction worker wielding a breakfast roll personified a certain view of the economy in the Celtic Tiger boom, then an office or tech worker clutching a flat white may be a more accurate view of the economy in 2022.

If politicians ever wanted to discommode Irish consumers, they need only mess with their daily cuppa. The planned 20 cent “latte levy” on all single use takeaway coffee cups, as part of a drive to force people to use their own “keep cups” instead, will put Government environmental policy quite literally into the hands of the majority of Irish consumers. Every day. On a cult product. Policymakers would be wise to tread carefully.

The Government likens the environmental measure to the plastic bag levy introduced 20 years ago. But the reality is that the latte levy has far more potential to sway sales than the bag levy. The levy is set to be 20 cent but the potential is there in the Circular Economy Bill to raise it to €1 if a lower levy has little effect — a hefty potential surcharge on every hot drink.

The Government’s plan is ultimately to ban all disposable paper cups. Ministers say that even the environmentally friendly ones usually end up in landfill — 200 million of them each year.

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But some coffee shop owners worry about hygiene for their staff handling hundreds of customer-washed (or unwashed) cups each day. If they have to wash customer keep cups anyway, they argue, to make sure they are clean and free of germs, their water and energy usage will rise along with the tempers of harried counter staff.

The Government seems determined to press on with the measure regardless. But it should take time to examine the claims of coffee shops and cup manufacturers who argue, with evidence to back it up, that ditching paper cups for plastic keep-cups may end up causing even more damage to the environment.