The Government is being urged to reduce excise duty on a bottle of wine.

The Support Your Local campaign says an €1.50 increase on an average bottle of wine - or 62% - since 2012 is serving to lower the quality of the drink that consumers are drinking.

The group says the issue should be addressed in the next budget, given that the economy is improving.

It also says that increase goes against the spirit of the EU, by having a detrimental impact on farmers across the continent.

Evelyn Jones of the National Off-Licence Association explains why they are calling for a rollback of the increase:

The National Off-Licence Association says that a survey of its members found that 56% would take on extra staff if the excise duty was reversed - which the group estimates would lead to the creation of more than 950 jobs.

Bart Storan, Campaign Manager for Support Your Local, says, “as well as impacting on independent off-licences, excise increases have created significant cash-flow issues for wine importers and distributors, as many have to pay excise as an up-front cost. This makes it hard for them to take on additional staff.