A County Cork pub that is delivering antigen tests to people’s homes at a cost of five for €50 says they bought their own stock when prices were higher.

The Beer Garden pub offers the test for €30 at its Turners Cross shop or €50 via Deliveroo.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, manager Adam Greene said he bought nearly 1,000 tests before Christmas to protect his staff.

When customers started asking if they could buy them in the pub, he put them up for sale.

“They were more expensive back then. They weren’t selling in supermarkets for €2 or €3 – otherwise, I would have bought them in the supermarket,” he said.

He said the only reason he bought them in the first place was to keep the pub open ahead of Christmas.

“Initially, we bought these antigen tests to protect our staff and keep the show on the road,” he said.

“Obviously, prevention is key. We have 40 staff working for us and we always have four or five out – without the tests I don’t know would we have gotten through Christmas.

“Customers wanted to buy them and I explained the charge, the delivery service charges, which is 35% and that is where the €50 comes into play.”

The Deliveroo charge of 35% is calculated on the €50 price – which means €17.50 goes to the delivery company and €21.50 to the pub.

“It is steep I suppose but if you have the money to sit at home and pay a delivery service to drop them up to your house, I suppose that is the price they are charging,” said Mr Greene.

“You don’t have to buy them on Deliveroo. You can go to the chemist or you can come down to the shop and buy them.”

Currently, a pack of five antigen tests sells for €20 in Boots, with a single test available for €3.99.

They are available in Dunnes, Tesco, Aldi and Supervalu for around €4 and in Lidl for €3.