We are working at the coalface and we see effects of cheap alcohol

We at the homeless charity Depaul strongly welcome the measures published in the Public Health Alcohol Bill.

At Depaul we witness the chronic effects of alcohol abuse on the individuals we work with and their families on a daily basis. People come through our doors every day whose lives have been devastated by the long-term use of alcohol in excessive quantities. The measures introduced in this bill are a critical first step in addressing the huge effect and impact that alcohol has in our culture and to helping prevent over-consumption and acute addictions for future generations

We endorse the measures announced as a way to curtail consumption and reduce the harmful effects of alcohol misuse both in the immediate and long-term. We find that behaviour towards alcohol follows price, and we believe that the introduction of a minimum price unit would see consumers substitute low-cost, super-strength alcohol with weaker and less harmful products. In tandem, we hope that restricting alcohol advertising to children will result in lesser numbers of people becoming acquainted with alcohol at a young impressionable age.