A storm in a keep cup

Sir, – Donal Deering (Letters, April 15th) extols the virtues of the “keep cup” and states that, unlike me, he searches for businesses that encourage their use. Without wishing to get into what may be seen by some as a storm in a keep cup, in my letter of April 10th, I offered no opinion on keep cups and stated that I had no issue with a “single-use cup” levy if introduced nationally.

I was simply commenting on how one small business owner’s introduction of a €1 levy per cup of coffee undermined demands by similar businesses for a cut in VAT. I would have thought that a discount to the advertised price reflecting the savings in not having to provide a single-use cup would be fairer to customers and offer more “encouragement” than a levy which only serves to encourage their customers to shop elsewhere. My search and continued support will be for the small businesses that value my custom and avoiding those that don’t. – Yours, etc,

PAUL McDERMOTT,

Roscommon.