It was revealed today that the cost of alcohol and cigarettes would unlikely be hiked in the upcoming Budget despite pubs and restaurants struggling to make up time lost to Covid.
There had been suggestions that the pressure on hospitality during the pandemic could be helped by increasing the cost of both, but the government has not indicated changes coming this year.
There may not be any new rules in the pipeline this side of Christmas, however, Cabinet signed off on plans months ago for minimum pricing on alcohol from January 2022.
The minimum unit pricing will set a floor price beneath which alcohol cannot legally be sold and will target products that are cheap relative to their strength.
The minimum price is determined by and is directly proportional to the amount of pure alcohol in the drink.
According to the government, the price hike will be brought in in response to Ireland having the third-highest level of adolescent binge drinking in the world according to data from a global study.
Under the new plan, there will be a minimum price of 10c per gram of alcohol, meaning the cheapest bottle of wine would be €7.40, where in the past it would have only cost €5, while there will be a minimum price of €1.32 on a 440ml can of lager.
The new system will also see 700ml bottles of supermarket gin or vodka now costing between €13 and €14 would cost €20.71.
Speaking back in May, when plans were set in motion, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said: “The Act is designed to reduce alcohol consumption, to reduce the harms caused by the misuse of alcohol and to delay the initiation of alcohol consumption by children and young people.
“Ireland had the third-highest level of adolescent binge drinking in the world according to data from a global study published in The Lancet in March 2019, while 2018 saw an 80% increase in the number of children under-16 admitted to Irish hospitals because of alcohol intoxication. 36 children in 2018 compared to 20 such cases in 2017.
“Addressing the availability of cheap strong alcohol products will reduce the disease and death caused by the harmful use of alcohol and will ensure that cheap strong alcohol is not available to children and young people at “pocket money” prices.”
