Shorthall praises Scottish move on alcohol pricing

Junior Health Minister Roisin Shorthall has said that Ireland's new minimum alcohol pricing will be similar to Scotland's.

The Scottish government today announced that it is imposing a price floor of 50p per unit of alcohol - or just over 60c - in a bid to tackle binge drinking.

On average a bottle of wine contains 10 units while there are around two units in cans of beer.

Minister Shorthall is welcoming the move, saying the rate in Ireland will be along the same lines when it is introduced later this year.

"We are looking at what is happening in Scotland," the minister confirmed.

"They have done a lot of modelling and they are somewhat ahead of us in terms of the research that has been done.

"We are in the process of commissioning similar research work at the moment.

"We are talking about setting the cost of alcohol at a level below which it is not legal to sell it."