Proposal for new minimum alcohol prices in Ireland- VIDEO

An Irish health minister hopes to introduce minimum prices on alcohol, in a bid to tackle alcohol misuse in Ireland.

Róisín Shortall, Junior Minister in the Department of Health, wants to end the sale of cheap alcohol.

"We’re hoping that we would be able to move towards a situation where there would be a minimum price set per ounce of alcohol and that would be in addition to the taxes that would have to be paid," she said.

"Recently, one of the supermarkets was selling two bottles of wine for a fiver. Now that’s less than the actual excise duties on bottles of wine and I’d like to move towards a certain situation where that would not be allowed under the law."

The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI), said any new pricing laws will increase the potential for court challenges.
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A spokesman told the Irish Examiner, "While we do not wish to pre-empt any of the recommendations contained in the final report, we do note the legal difficulties associated with the introduction of minimum pricing to which the minister refers."

Meanwhile, at a European forum, an Irish alcohol awareness campaign has been praised as a model for best practice.

The Dare2BDrinkAware multimedia campaign was praised at the European Alcohol and Health Forum in Brussels on Wednesday, the Journal reports.

The campaign sought entries which focus on responsible drinking, and are targeted at Irish college students.

Here is last year’s winning entry by Ciara Kennedy, which offers an interesting perspective on some Irish ladies preparations for a night out on the town.