Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join others in thanking Dr. Holmes and Dr. Angus for coming here today and for the report we received yesterday afternoon. We have done our quick read, but we have not read it in detail. I will certainly give a lot more time to it.

The questions raised by Deputy Ó Caoláin are probably ones we are going to be hearing more of as we go through the legislative process with the public health (alcohol) Bill. They would have been to the fore in my head when I first came to the issue of minimum unit pricing. I was happy to read the fifth conclusion in the research group's document, which relates to the health effects of this measure on those in poverty. We need to strike a balance between those effects and the other impact this measure might have.

Senator Crown asked about the ceiling or tipping point. How do we determine where we set the minimum price? It might seem very compelling to say that if we keep increasing the minimum price, we will save many more lives. Where is that point? How do we determine where to set the price? When we are looking at the legislation, how best do we ensure we set the price appropriately?

Dr. Holmes referred in his presentation to "premiumisation", which is the idea that the drinks industry will increase the price of its products to ensure its brands retain a premium status. Could this mean that people will switch to cheaper alcohol? Has the research group looked at the effects of that? How can we be sure the consumer will be protected? If a minimum unit price is set, and we see general prices going up over time, how do we ensure that price is appropriate for the marketplace as time goes on? Does it have to be linked to something? I can understand what will happen on day one. How do we provide for a system that is sufficiently robust?

Senator Crown spoke about misinformation. It is excellent for us to have the evidence that has been presented here. I note the point made by Dr. Holmes about illicit drugs. This is one of the main themes in the correspondence I have received on this issue. It has been suggested that minimum unit pricing will lead to an increase in people taking drugs. It seems from the research group's presentation that there is no evidence to support that at the moment. There is no basis for somebody to put forward that proposition. If the witnesses could give us any more information on that, I would welcome it. I imagine we will hear more and more about this argument.

Did the research group look at any parallel strategies when it was doing its study? Senator Burke spoke about education. Does this have an effect? Dr. Holmes referred to the experience in Canada. Did the drinks industry there oppose the approach to minimum unit pricing that was taken in Canada? Maybe they could give us some information that would help us to understand that. We know that the drinks industry in Scotland is taking an ongoing court case against minimum unit pricing. To me, that is another reason we know it works. Maybe that is just me being me. I would be interested to know what kind of evidence or so-called evidence - "misinformation" is a much better word to describe it - they are putting forward.