Health Minister Simon Harris warned the industry will face potential €5,000 fines and six-month prison sentences under new rules

Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) is calling on the Finance Minister to maintain the current excise duties on drink in its pre-budget submission today.

The rate of underage drinking in Ireland has fallen over four years.

Alcohol Action Ireland is calling on the Government to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol as a matter of urgency.

Alcohol is so cheap now that it only costs men and women less than €10 to reach their weekly low-risk guideline limit.

Ireland’s drinking habit has become almost €1bn-a-year headache, with vast sums of money lost on caring for problem drinkers, cleaning up after their mistakes, covering for them at work, and taking over their child-rearing responsibilities.

A proposed new piece of legislation proposing to restrict how alcohol is displayed in shops has faced criticism from some Senators

Alcohol has claimed the lives of 2,000 people since the government first began deliberating over the controversial Alcohol Bill two years ago, a leading charity has warned.

The interests of business and public health advocates should not be given equal weight in discussions around the final form of landmark legislation on alcohol, according to a charity working in the area.

Fine Gael senators and TDs who blocked plans to limit the sale and promotion of alcohol earlier this year have demanded a meeting with Health Minister Simon Harris over his plans to force through the law change.