No more cheap booze, says Minister

The days of bargain basement booze in supermarkets are over, if Roisin Shorthall has her way.

Just a day after a similar announcement in Northern Ireland, the Minister of State at the Department of Health has announced that she is seeking legal advice on setting a minimum price for alcohol, as well as reducing the number of outlets that are licensed to sell alcohol.

“We’re hoping that we would be able to move towards a situation where there would be a minimum price set per ounce of alcohol, and that would be in addition to the taxes that will be required to be paid," she said.

"Recently one of the supermarkets was selling two bottles of wine for a fiver. Now, you know, that's less than the actual excise duty on those bottles of wine, and I'd like to move to a certain situation where that would not be allowed under the law."

Before we all panic and rush to Tesco on the way home, this is only a proposal and she is attempting to take on two huge industries simultaneously here, the supermarkets and the drinks companies.

Also the fact that it is to be set by the ounce is an alien concept to your average Irish drinker. By can, by bottle or even by percentage we might understand but the scheme has no chance if people don't understand what and how it is being measured.

The Minister may have a case about the number of outlets, as half your local petrol station is now regularly blocked up with massive mountains of some beer you have never heard of when you are just nipping in to pay for your fuel.

But massive retailers like Tesco’s or Dunnes can afford to absorb whatever extra charges are introduced and they could always plead the ‘jobs’ line if there is any discrepancy with the prices over the border.

With the Irish tax take so low it is hard to imagine the Government introducing a measure that would reduce the sales of alcohol, such a huge part of the VAT returns, but that seems to be the proposal.