New rules to ban alcohol promotions

A range of alcohol promotions will be banned here by January 2021 under new regulations aimed at reducing binge drinking.

Short-term promotional drinks offers, and the sale of alcohol at a reduced price, or free with the purchase of another product or service, will be prohibited under the proposed regulations.

The regulations also see a clampdown on the awarding of loyalty card points on the purchase of alcohol, or the use of loyalty card points to purchase alcohol.

“Alcohol is a drug and one which has real risks and harms associated with it and, as such, should not be a subject of promotional activity,” Health Minister Simon Harris told the Irish Examiner last September, when the proposed regulations were first mooted.

By restricting access to alcohol products through promotions or loyalty card programmes, the regulations align with the objectives of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018, which are to reduce alcohol consumption and reduce the harms caused by the misuse of alcohol.

The proposed regulations under section 23 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act were submitted for EU assessment in September under the Technical Standards Directive.

Two comments on the proposals were received: one from the European Commission about online sales, and a “short assertion” from Spain that the regulations are anti-competitive.

As no detailed opinions on the proposals were received by December, Mr Harris can now introduce the regulations. He previously stated that he intends to allow for a one-year lead-in time so that businesses can prepare for the changes. As Christmas is the busiest time of the year for retailers, January 11, 2021, is the current proposed date for the introduction of the new regulations.

Meanwhile, it remains the Government’s policy to introduce minimum unit pricing on alcohol at the same time as similar provisions are enacted in Northern Ireland, confirmed Mr Harris.