Minimum alcohol pricing will only target cheap drink in off-licences

The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill is a crucial response to one of our most significant public health problems. Alcohol misuse claims three lives every day in Ireland and we all know someone who has been affected in a harmful way by alcohol use — it is all too common.

The Bill contains positive and critical actions to reduce alcohol harm and improve our health, safety and wellbeing. Most importantly, evidence shows that this legislation and its inclusion of three key areas — alcohol pricing, marketing and availability — can save lives. Despite this, we know the Bill will come under sustained attack from the alcohol industry.

This is because we cannot reduce alcohol harm without reducing our high levels of consumption, which the alcohol industry continuously seeks to increase. Our alcohol consumption, which increased last year, is now two litres of pure alcohol per person above the Healthy Ireland target (and OECD average) of 9.1 litres per capita and we have one of the highest rates of binge drinking in the world.