Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The groceries Act was abolished with the aim of feeding the masses with cheap bread and milk. However, as all Members are aware, alcohol has become the favoured lure. Some very good points have been made by speakers. As Senator McDowell said, this is very important legislation. He touched on minimum unit pricing, as did Senators Wilson and Mulherin. Senators Wilson and Reilly spoke on the complications of cost differentials across the Border. Those are two serious problems that will not be easily dealt with.

The most important aspect of the Bill and the relevant way to deal with issues in terms of alcohol, as has been said by a couple of Senators, is to address the below-cost selling of alcohol. This is the elephant in the room. Only the large retailers are able to avail of low-cost selling and to use it as one of their weapons to entice people into their supermarkets. A ban on below-cost selling is the way forward as that is doing the most harm in terms of alcohol. It is going to be very difficult to police minimum pricing or the differential in pricing across the Border. We are already facing many problems in terms of Brexit. Addressing the below-cost selling of alcohol is the way forward on this issue.