Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome news that minimum pricing for alcohol is to be introduced. Finally we are dealing with the issue in a serious way. Full details are to be released tomorrow. We were awaiting the result of the Scottish case in the European court that dealt with many of the issues raised by Senator Rónán Mullen. The more potent the alcohol, the higher the price. That will act as a disincentive and a deterrent in the case of beverages with a higher alcohol content. Large multiple retailers are using below-cost selling of alcohol to get people into their stores. A startling statistic is that they spend more than one fifth of their advertising budget on alcohol advertising. In a country where children born in the 1980s drank alcohol for the first time at 16 years and those born in the 1990s at 14 years, something must be done. There is potentially a huge cost to society, estimated at €1.2 billion every year. A huge volume of alcohol can be purchased and still have change from €10. The sponsorship issue must be addressed, but it is welcome that we are implementing this effective measure to address a serious issue. This is a country where 54% of children admit to being drunk before the age of 16 years. Establishing a minimum cost of alcohol-----