Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As all Senators will be aware, over two years ago, on 17 October 2018, legislation was passed to combat and stop harmful drinking. The legislation, the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, was praised by international policy experts as being model legislation that was well structured and evidence based. One of its main provisions was minimum unit pricing, which is a targeted measure designed to reduce alcohol consumption. It would enforce a set cost below which alcohol cannot be sold. This is not the case currently. It would mainly affect the price of very cheap drinks and alcoholic drinks with a very high alcohol content. However, it has not yet been implemented in Ireland.

There are compelling international data indicating that pricing is one of the most effective ways to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and tackle alcohol-related harm, especially in the home. We can see this in Scotland, where in the two years in which minimum unit pricing has been in place, the rate of consumption has been at its lowest in 25 years. More important, the number of hospital admissions for liver disease among the lowest income groups has been significantly reduced. I recognise that the programme for Government pledges to introduce minimum unit pricing simultaneously with the North. I appreciate the logic behind that considering the potential for the retail sector to be impacted by cross-Border shopping. Northern Ireland's Minister for Health, Mr. Robin Swann, is developing a substance misuse strategy, but it has been delayed by the pandemic. After the strategy has been finalised, the intention is to have public consultation on minimum unit pricing. This suggests it could take well over two years before Northern Ireland is in a position to introduce minimum unit pricing. I do not believe under any circumstances that we can afford to wait that long to introduce this measure given the impact alcohol is currently having. I ask that the Minister of State responsible for public health be invited to this House to debate the issue at his earliest convenience.