No rush over the border envisaged with minimum alcohol pricing, Government insists

Concerns have been expressed that a failure by the Stormont Assembly to move in tandem with the republic on minimum unit pricing will lead to an exodus over the border to buy cheaper alcohol

'Younger people are engaging in a lot of binge drinking, we've got the third highest adolescent rate of drinking anywhere in the world,' Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said.

The Government does not envisage a rush over the border to Northern Ireland for cheap alcohol, when minimum unit pricing kicks in next January.

Speaking to mark the Cabinet decision to introduce minimum pricing, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said international evidence does not support such a move of people.