Off-licences should be shut says health expert

Professor of Public Health at Trinity College Dublin Joe Barry has questioned the necessity for off-licences to remain open during the Coronavirus lockdown.

 “Alcohol is being sold in supermarkets and in petrol stations,” he told the Evening Echo in Cork recently, “I am not sure if we need the off-licences too.”

The Fermoy native said that the last thing hospitals need was to face people who’ve suffered severe injuries while drunk.

While closing off-licences might be unpopular several unpopular measures have already had to be taken by the Government during the current crisis, he told the Echo.

Overconsumption of alcohol was a concern, he stated.