Research commissioned to counter any challenge to minimum pricing

Research is being commissioned by the Junior Health Minister Roisin Shortall to counter any challenge likely to be taken against the introduction of minimum pricing in Ireland by the drinks industry here or any other challenge.

This was announced at a press conference to launch Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Related Harm in Ireland, the latest in a series of bulletins arising from data collected in the Drug Prevalence Survey 2010/11, where she added that the sale of cheap alcohol in supermarkets in particular was a “root cause” of the harmful drinking going on among young people and those who had a problem with alcohol.

She stated that she was determined that effective steps would be taken to address the problem of alcohol misuse in Ireland and that plans to bring proposals on tackling alcohol misuse would be brought to government within weeks.

A memo will be going to Government shortly providing for a public health alcohol bill.