The separation of booze from regular items in shops has been welcomed by Alcohol Action Ireland.
The national advocate for cutting alcohol harm have welcomed the new retail measures after a two-year transition period.
Under the new law, which will be monitored by the HSE Environmental Health Officers, mixed trade retailers can store alcohol products in a storage unit behind the counter at only one point of sale area and can also display and advertise alcohol products using either a separate area of the shop separated by a physical barrier, adjacent storage units where products are displayed at above 1.5m or a maximum of three adjacent units.
Eunan McKinney, Head of Communications and Advocacy at Alcohol Action Ireland, said: “We are delighted that this day has finally arrived.
“These measures provide us all with a new opportunity to end the normalisation of alcohol throughout society; alcohol is not an ordinary product and should never be seen as such.
“Bringing these measures into law has been a very long, and by times, difficult challenge.
“The significance of placing alcohol controls on a statutory basis, ending a somewhat cavalier self-regulatory approach, is highly important.
“The Public Health Alcohol Act holds this principle at the heart of its endeavour and we look forward to the government fulfilling its promise, outlined in the Programme for Government, to implement, in full, the Public Health Alcohol Act (PHAA) honour their longstanding commitment to introducing minimum unit pricing. “
