Alarm bells were ringing at St James’s Gate yesterday as an unfortunately-timed warning alert sounded just as Taoiseach Enda Kenny was starting to speak at the official opening of Diageo’s new €169 million brewery.

While few took much notice of the distress signal, which was switched off in time for the Taoiseach to say a number of sweet things about the drinks giant, comments made by Diageo head honcho Ivan Menezes after the ceremony may raise alarm bells in Government. Specifically, Mr Menezes called for action to be taken on excise duty, saying it was now the highest in Europe.

“I’m not happy with the excise environment in Ireland, it has gone way too high. We need to address this and create a more competitive environment,” he said.

Mr Menezes said that reducing excise duty would help support economic recovery by putting more money in consumers’ pockets and aiding the hospitality sector.

“There have been over 1,000 pubs closed since the economic crisis so we really see it as vital to support our partners in ensuring the hospitality sector is vibrant. From that standpoint, getting the excise down is very important,” he said.

Diageo has been here before in calling for a reversal of last year’s increase in excise duty on alcohol, as have many other interested parties, among them the State’s drinking public. But previous calls to do something about the issue have fallen on deaf ears.

At the opening of the new Diageo brewery, Mr Kenny was keen to associate the Government with the food and drink sector, which he noted was providing many jobs across Ireland. But what if Mr Menezes decides to flex his muscles further on the issue of excise, possibly by linking it to employment opportunities?

With the Government already in constant defence mode in relation to corporation tax, a new battle front on excise would be far from welcome.