It was a bad day today for those who like to take a trip to the off licence or the supermarket to pick up a few drinks as the Government officially got its much discussed public health bill through the next stage today.
The bill which is being pushed hard by the Minister for Health Simon Harris and the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is all but officially passed within the Dail as a number of Ministers voted in favour of approving the new legislation which will supposedly cut down on the amount we drink.
Under the new laws off licences and supermarkets will no longer be able to sell cheap drink as a new minimum pricing system will cut out on the sale of bulk buying.
The new legislation which has faced a lot of criticism from retailers and the public will see the average consumer spending double the price on beer, wine and spirits once it’s officially passed.
Although most leading beer brands won’t be greatly affected it will be small businesses and supermarkets who will feel the pinch as the minimum price of a can of cheap beer will rise from €1 to €2, whilst wine and spirits will increase from €4 to €8 and €12 to €24 respectively.
The increase which will apparently cut down on what we consume is also designed to force consumers to be more frugal with their money as the days of buying mutli-packs and large bottles of spirits or wine will be over as they will be too expensive to obtain.
Meanwhile retailers will also be put to the hassle of rearranging their stores as the new legislation will forbid them from displaying alcohol near food items whilst they will also have to have all alcohol related products displayed in an enclosed space out of view from the the public.
Minister Harris is also lobbying for drinks manufacturers to put more public health warnings on their products. He also intends to strip their current advertising platforms with companies being no longer able to directly advertise it’s products on TV, radio or billboards.
Speaking about the new laws the Health Minister said he and his department are carrying out important work in order to improve public health and although not everyone will agree with these upcoming changes he is adamant that they are ‘long over due’.
He added: “Ireland must improve its laws in order for it to shake off its stereotypical drinking culture.”