Call for ban on supermarket alcohol sales

The Irish Medical Organisation is urging the Government to phase out alcohol licences in supermarkets, shops and petrol stations.

In its submission to the Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan's Alcohol Advisory Group, the IMO says large companies have forfeited their right to voluntary regulation by the way they have marketed alcohol over a number of years.

The Doctors' representative body is also calling for a minimum pricing structure for alcohol and say it can justified on public health and public order grounds.