We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS no plans to press ahead with the introduction of minimum pricing on alcohol, despite calls for it to be considered as a tool in the country’s “Covid battle plan”.
With ideas such as closing off licences earlier being floated by ministers to try to curb large house parties and social gatherings during Covid-19, the government still has no plans just yet to implement the measure which would specifically target the cheapest and strongest alcohol products.
A frequently-cited reason for not implementing this measure that was passed into law as part of the Public Health Alcohol Bill two years ago this month is that the government wanted to introduce the measure at the same time as Northern Ireland to avoid people travelling over the border to buy cheaper alcohol.
However, with the whole country under Level 3 restrictions, people are urged not to leave their counties. At the same time, the government has been putting the emphasis on adherence and enforcement with the public health measures.
On a number of occasions, there have been calls to curb alcohol sales after footage of large numbers socialising and drinking provoked an outcry.
The Irish Independent reported today that one minister suggested closing off licences earlier to try to clamp down on house parties. Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan also told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne today the measure should be looked at as well as the volume of alcohol that can be purchased at any one time.
He said: “When you see slabs of cans being taken home you know that they are not being taken home for an after-dinner aperitif.”
Vintners have also called for restrictions on the sale of alcohol if clusters of Covid-19 are being traced back to house parties and gatherings.
However, TheJournal.ie understands that reduced hours for off-licences is not a runner at this time for government.
It’s believed that people wishing to buy alcohol would just shop earlier so the measure would have little effect.
One measure that was included in legislation with the aim of reducing harmful drinking in Ireland is minimum pricing. In the last few weeks, lobbyists and a government back bencher have criticised the failure to implement it so far.
Minimum pricing
Minimum unit pricing is a set cost below which alcohol can’t be sold. It is a section of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 that has not yet been commenced.
The Act states that the cheapest price for a gram of alcohol is 10 cent. A standard drink has 10 grams of alcohol in it, meaning the lowest price for one standard drink is now €1.
A standard drink is half a pint of beer/lager/stout, a small 100ml glass of wine or a pub measure of spirits.
This might sound cheap, but most drinks are marked up in price for retailers and pubs/clubs so it will mainly affect very cheap drinks with strong alcohol content.
Analysis from TheJournal.ie has shown that the cost of many major brands of beer wouldn’t be required to increase beyond their current level under minimum pricing.
In May, then-Minister for Health Simon Harris expressed a preference for waiting on Northern Ireland to introduce the measure simultaneously but added that he wasn’t willing to “wait forever” to implement this “important public health measure”.
Such reasoning is no longer valid, according to some.
In the Dáil last week, Fianna Fáil TD Éamon Ó Cuív said: “There is a saying in the Irish language that when the drink is in, the sense is out. We know the truth of that statement. There can be no doubt that cheap alcohol is having a damaging effect in our country.
The excuse given for not acting on this was that people would travel across the Border for cheaper drink. This might happen but it would not undermine the general effectiveness of the law. When Covid-19 is added to the mix, it becomes even more important for people to keep their wits about them. It is time that we commence this section, which was passed by the House. We should not put it on the never-never, but take action.
The measure has already been brought in by Scotland, and Ó Cuív said that it too shares a land border – in this case with England – which has had little effect on the measure.
Writing in TheJournal.ie late last month, Eunan McKinney from Alcohol Action Ireland said that reducing the supply of cheap alcohol should be part of the government’s “Covid battle plan”.
He said: “Alcohol and social distancing remain poor bedfellows. And while there has been some concern about so-called ‘wet pubs’ as centres of transmission, drinking parties in houses, particularly when that alcohol has been bought for ‘pocket-money’ prices, should be a real concern too.”
In Northern Ireland, health minister Robin Swann recently promises a public consultation on the matter, an indication that it will be some time before the measure is introduced there.
In response to Ó Cuív in the Dáil, junior health minister Frank Feighan said that the government made a commitment in 2013 for simultaneous introduction of minimum pricing with the North and this position was “reaffirmed in the programme for government”.
Feighan said: “If we proceed with the policy unilaterally, we risk undermining its effectiveness by continuing to provide consumers with the option to avoid minimum unit pricing by crossing the Border to access cheaper alcohol… and I very much look forward to implementing the policy when the conditions are in place for it to be effective.”
In a statement, a Department of Health spokeswoman said that the introduction of minimum pricing in the context of travel restrictions would not be in compliance with the objective of the Government decision which approved the measure.
“The effects of the introduction of minimum unit pricing of alcohol products in other jurisdictions are kept under consideration on an ongoing basis,” the spokeswoman added.
With reporting from Christina Finn
That doesn’t make sense – if all they were worth is €100,000 , would it not better be to keep them for now?? As in they pretty much already brought all loss they possibly could…
I couldn’t make such bollox of something like that deal no matter how hard I tried.
The interesting thing though is that if you did it, you would loose your job for The 3p’s – piss poor performance. In Ireland no one will loose their jobs, no one will be held accountable for this latest disaster in our banks. Same shite for decades, when AIB went bust in the 80′s and were bailed out by Garret Fitz and FG, no one was held accountable, no bonuses were cut. Garrett got a non-recourse loan off the back of that in thanks. The banks own FG and FF, and neither party will say boo to them for any actions they take.
A.I.B. aren’t alone there, a fair chunk of the country lost varying amounts in Bulgaria, thinking it was the next property bubble.
40 grand for a single room (sorry, studio!) with jacks off it, only about four hours by road from the nearest airport, and populated with surly youths and opportunistic taxi drivers.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t too dissimiliar to the Irish property market in parts, at all!
Except for the price that is. But 230 million down to a hundred k is hard to beat!
So many people have lost their investments in Bulgarian property, so many have lost their investments in AIB shares…but at least the directors are still well paid!
This should have been listed for sale in the Irish Papers first , Minister reprimand this official please , any more surprises !
Do you really think anyone in Ireland would invest €35,100,000 in a Bulgarian bank riddled with debt?
If someone is willing to pay 100k surely they intend to turn profit so why AIB can’t? Are they stupid or what? Why this wasn’t offered for sale here???
Because the people that were investing were taking on a heap of debt.
Yes Sean, yes they are!
I can understand at some stage having to cut your losses but I would like to know if any of the “lads” made a nice profit on this deal.
Bunch of useless gangsters and morons, all of them
Can’t say I’m crying any tears for them, except that no doubt they’ll find some way of making the taxpayer foot the bill for the loss.
*facepalm
This stinks, sold to the girlfriend ? The AIB executives involved should be named and shamed. A file should be sent to the DPP but it will sit there with the rest.
If AIB and Bank of Ireland or Anglo Irish Directors start going to jail, they are going to take a lot of FF and FG TD’s with them. They aren’t going to allow that, better to just over look the free loans and debt cancellations that the banks gave to Taoiseach’s such as Haughey and Garrett Fitzgerald.
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say