Professor Frank Murray:

There are many perverse outcomes of the Irish relationship with alcohol. The Vice Chairman is right in that it is ridiculous that we are compensating major retailers by reimbursing their VAT if they sell below cost. We should nail that one straight away. If we increase the price of alcohol and restrict the availability of it, it is a win-win situation because we will generate more income for the Government and improve people's health. There are very few other things that we can do that with so it is a virtuous circle. There are data on this. People who have been surveyed by the Health Research Board have said that if alcohol was more expensive, they would drink less. We have identified already that we have a terrible problem with alcohol. A recent survey identified that between 1.3 million and 1.4 million people in Ireland drink harmfully, which is a shocking statistic that should stop us completely in our tracks. In much of the debate that has followed, people have denied it and said that in respect of the binge drinking rates here, it is a ridiculously low threshold. They are the international definitions applied to Ireland, not Irish definitions applied to Ireland. I argue the we have a great opportunity here for a win-win situation.