Mr. Padraig Cribben:

I will address the price issue. Most of the time, and to repeat what I said earlier, 42% of all alcohol is sold on promotion. Some 70% of what one sees in the supermarket is sold on promotion, which is generally below cost. One cannot compare the price and value in the supermarket with what one gets in a pub. They are two very different experiences. One goes into a pub, and the publican is paying for lighting, entertainment, for Sky sports, water charges and so on.

The product that is being sold in the supermarket is being sold below cost. There is the perception that this is consumer-friendly. It is anything but consumer-friendly. The supermarkets are super-profitable and they must recoup the cost of the promotion. One does not become super-profitable by selling one's products below cost. One has a footfall driver and one sells that below cost to get people in but when people come in they buy other products. The price and the cost to the consumer of other staple products, whether they be bread, milk or nappies, is increased.

Our engagement with Government for quite some time has been to request the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol. In 2014, the broader drinks industry signed a pledge that it would work with Government to tackle the issue of cheap alcohol. There are a number of ways to do it. One way is to reintroduce the groceries order. That worked in the past, it can work again and it is immediate. Minimum unit pricing is another option. We recognise, and people may not be aware, that the concept of minimum unit pricing has been introduced in Scotland but it has been held up because some vested interests have taken a court case against it which is now being adjudicated in Europe. We all know that Europe does not necessarily move too quickly as it takes a long time to get out of first gear into second gear. We are probably looking at a period of 18 months to two years for that adjudication.

The Government made a commitment this time last year to introduce minimum unit pricing. It has committed to addressing the issue of how alcohol is marketed and merchandised in supermarkets. This time last year the Government committed to addressing the issue of price-based advertising. Unfortunately, we have not seen the meat on the bones of those commitments.