Establishing a bulk Irish whiskey market would remove many of the obstacles facing independent brands and breathe new life into the struggling sector, according to a report prepared by consulting firm Compecon.

The research was commissioned by Wild Geese Irish Whiskey to examine the performance of the Irish whiskey industry compared with the Scotch equivalent.

It noted that there are only 12 whiskey-producing distilleries in Ireland, compared with 115 in Scotland, while to date, only four of the Irish distilleries have produced mature Irish whiskey.

Other findings in the report suggested:

+ Scotch whisky exports in 2014 were in excess of €5bn, compared with Irish whiskey exports of €350m.

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+ Unlike the Scotch whisky industry, Ireland lacks a functioning wholesale whiskey market, resulting in new entrant uncertainty in supply and cost. The wholesale whiskey market in Scotland has facilitated the growth of a sizeable industry, with 5,000 blended whiskies and hundreds of malts, and enabled firms without a distillery of their own to develop major international brands, such as Dewar’s, Cutty Sark and J&B.

+ There are a number of significant barriers to entry in Irish whiskey distilling, including the mandatory three-year maturation period before the product can be sold.

+ Several companies have built Irish whiskey brands to date that have been undermined by a lack of supply of mature whiskey.

+ The establishment of a wholesale market for bulk Irish whiskey help encourage new export-oriented Irish whiskey firms in the industry.

Pat Massey, director of Compecon, said: “While there is a significant demand at home and abroad for Irish whiskey, the potential of … small producers and the industry at large is being stifled by a lack of adequate measures to support the industry.

“The Irish Whiskey Association has stated in its ‘Vision for Irish Whiskey’ report that it should be possible to enter the whiskey market without having to build a distillery and our research illustrates the benefits of this to producers and the economy.”

Andre Levy, chairman and co-founder with his wife, Mairade, of The Wild Geese Irish Whiskey, added: “This report describes the challenges that we as an independent Irish whiskey brand, face day-to-day.

“Issues [include] the high cost of market entry, the presence of larger established market players controlling supply and the difficulty in accessing a long-term and competitive mature whiskey supply.”

“These factors are prohibitive to new market entrants and threaten existing brands looking to survive, grow sustainably and share in the category they played a part in growing.”

Levy added: “we are asking the Irish government to support our call for the immediate establishment of a commercially viable wholesale market for bulk Irish whiskey.

“The case for such a market has been made by the Irish Whiskey Association and we believe the government has a fundamental role to play in supporting the SME sector as we work to grow the economy at home and abroad.”