Government ministers are at loggerheads again, this time over plans to introduce a so-called ‘beer curtain’, to cover alcohol in shops.
The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015 postulates that a ‘structural separation of alcohol products in mixed trading outlets’ must be introduced to hide the horrors of alcohol from view.
The bill says that: “Alcohol products will no longer be displayed like ‘every day’, ‘ordinary’ products.
“Stores will have to choose to store alcohol either in a separate area of the store, or in a closed cabinet.”
Fine Gael backbenchers, and members of the Independent Alliance have raised concerns about the idea.