Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister mentioned that his counterparts in Northern Ireland were planning to introduce minimum unit prices for alcohol. Have they given him a firm commitment that these will be introduced? Has he or his officials discussed at what level the minimum prices will be set in Northern Ireland? My constituency of Louth borders Northern Ireland. It is important that the regions' minimum unit prices be set at comparable levels.

Proper labelling regarding the health effects of alcohol is vital. The Minister plans to introduce three pieces of labelling to alcohol products, namely, health warnings, the amount of pure alcohol as measured in grams and the calorie count. I agree with this plan. As the Minister rightly pointed out, standard units are widely misunderstood. If information was displayed on labelling, it would go a long way towards helping consumers make informed decisions on their alcohol consumption.