Below-cost alcohol sales ban welcomed

The new laws setting out a minimum price for alcohol have been broadly welcomed both by campaigners and drinks industry groups.

The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill prevents the sale of extremely cheap alcohol and outlines requirements for health warnings and calorie counts to feature on drinks containers — but has stopped short of banning drinks companies sponsoring sporting events.

It is aimed at preventing the below-cost sale of alcohol, primarily in supermarkets, and is not targeted at the pub trade.

While Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) largely welcomed the move, calling it a “landmark announcement”, it urged the Government to reconsider its stance on drinks companies being allowed to sponsor sporting events.

“The decision to place the existing ineffective ‘voluntary code of practice for sponsorships for drinks companies’ on a legislative footing is a significant weakness in the proposal and we call on the minister to re-examine this measure before the bill is published in full,” said AAI chief executive Suzanne Costello.

However, the organisation said the proposal signalled the Government’s intent to regulate alcohol as a public health matter for the first time.

The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland, which represents alcohol manufacturers and suppliers in Ireland, said the drinks industry wants to play an active role in the solution to harmful drinking.

“We are committed to responsible marketing of our products and we are already subject to some of the most stringent co-regulatory codes of practice on alcohol marketing and sponsorship anywhere in the world,” said ABFI director Ross Mac Mathúna.

“We hope that today can mark the beginning of a new era of engagement, where all of the relevant parties, from drinks manufacturers and suppliers, to publicans, the supermarkets, government departments and medical bodies can come together to devise and implement evidence-based solutions that will have a lasting impact on alcohol misuse in this country.”

In addition, the National Off-Licence Association called the bill a “vital tool” in addressing social health and public order issues. “The proposed introduction of a minimum unit price is a very positive step. However, we remind Government that the effectiveness of the measure is entirely dependent on the introduction of an appropriate price which we believe must be €0.70 cent per unit of alcohol to have the required impact,” said spokesperson Evelyn Jones.

Meanwhile, the Royal College of Physicians labelled the bill a “huge step forward” in reducing social disorder in Ireland.

“Campaigns advising us to ‘drink responsibly’ won’t change the drink culture; it takes action on price and availability to reduce the harm caused particularly to younger and harmful or hazardous drinkers,” said Prof Frank Murray, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and chair of the Policy Group on Alcohol.

“We welcome the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing which has been proven in countries like Canada and we look forward to engaging with the legislative process around the setting of this price.”