New law could see bottle of wine cost almost 9 or 220 for cans

New proposals aimed at curbing cheap alcohol sales could see the minimum cost of a bottle of wine rise to almost €9 with a can of beer costing at least €2.20. These have been welcomed locally by the Minister for Arts Heather Humphreys.

The measures (not pub measures) are part of a plan by Health Minister Leo Varadkar to reduce the levels of alcohol consumption nationally.

Labels carrying health warnings - similar to those on cigarette packet - as well as information on calories also feature in the proposed new legislation.

Minister Varadkar got Cabinet approval yesterday for the Heads of the proposed Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015.

The legislation will also set out new restrictions on advertising, marketing and sponsorship.

The Irish Independent is reporting today that the Department of Health is looking at introducting a minimum price of between 9c and 11c per gram of alcohol. In real terms, that means the minimum cost of an unit of alcohol - about half a pint of beer or a small glass of wine - will be set between 90c and €1.10.

If the higher price is imposed, it means a bottle of wine could not be legally sold for less than €8.80 and a can of beer for €2.20.

If the lower price option is applied, that would translate to at least €7.20 for a bottle of wine and €1.80 for a can of beer.

Mr Varadkar said: 'The days of 15 cans or bottles of beer being sold for €15 is of the past.

'Most Irish adults drink too much and many drink dangerously.'

'This has an enormous impact on our society and economy through greater illness and higher health costs, public order and violent offences, road traffic collisions, injuries and absence from work.

'It is also associated with many suicides and instances of sexual violence, domestic violence and child harm. The time for debate is over, we have had four years of it now. It is over and we need to put those measures into place.'

It's believe that the new legislation will allow the sponsorship of sports events by drinks companies to continue, but will provide for a review in three years.

Irish people still drink an annual 11.6 litres of pure alcohol per capita, down 20% on what was consumed at the end of 2009.

The aim is to bring down Ireland's consumption of alcohol to the OECD average of 9.1 litres in five years' time.

Continuing to ignore our 'spiralling alcohol problem' not an option - Humphreys

Cavan Monaghan TD and Arts Minister Humphreys has welcomed the measures approved by the Government to tackle problem drinking.

Speaking today, she said: “Excessive drinking is a serious problem facing Irish society, which previous Governments have failed to tackle. These measures approved by Government will help to address problem drinking, which will limit the damage to the nation’s health and reduce costs to the health service.

“Banning the sale of cheap alcohol is one of the most important elements of this package of measures. This should act as a disincentive to young people in particular and should help to curb excessive binge drinking. Drinks with the highest alcohol content will be the most expensive, which is the most effective way of targeting the heaviest drinkers.

“Health labels on alcohol products, including calorie counts, will also help to make us all more aware of the consequences of our alcohol consumption. Restrictions on advertising are being introduced to ensure children are not targeted and for the first time the sponsorship of sports events will be regulated.

“Environmental Health Officers are being given additional powers to ensure the new rules on the sale of cheap alcohol and other measures are being enforced.

“Continuing to ignore our spiralling alcohol problem was not an option. It is estimated that treating problems associated with alcohol misuse costs our health services more than €1 billion per year. This Government is grasping the nettle by introducing a series of measures which could have a very quick impact on the amount of alcohol we are consuming. We all know the Irish people drink too much. Now it’s time to do something about it. I believe these measures strike the right balance and will help to address our unhealthy relationship with alcohol.”