HEALTH AUTHORITIES on both sides of the Border are planning to introduce a minimum price for alcohol on the island in an effort to combat alcohol abuse.
Government and Northern Executive Ministers decided on the strategy at a conference in Armagh yesterday and hope to agree a minimum drinks pricing structure by year-end.
Ministers for Health James Reilly and Edwin Poots and Minister of State for Health Róisín Shortall told The Irish Times of their plans to tackle alcohol abuse through increasing prices for low-price, high-strength drinks such as cider, beers and own-brand spirits.
“Problem drinkers and young drinkers are very price-sensitive and for them there is a very direct correlation between price and levels of consumption,” said Ms Shortall.
Both administrations were closely monitoring the Scottish National Party’s plan to introduce a minimum charge – possibly 45-50 pence per unit of alcohol – that is expected to be enacted by early summer.
“We are committed in principle to the introduction of a minimum pricing regime . . . and we would be hopeful of doing that in both jurisdictions before the end of this year.”
Mr Poots, the North’s Minister for Health, said he would be co-operating with Dr Reilly and Ms Shortall to try to co-ordinate the introduction of the proposed new measures.
“We want to make sure we don’t have a disparity where alcohol is one price north of the Border and considerably more expensive south of the Border, or vice versa,” he said.
“So, it is important there is not a big time lapse between legislation being introduced in one jurisdiction, or indeed the other.”
At present in Northern Ireland, Mr Poots added, people could buy a bottle of cider with 14 units of alcohol for £2.30 (€2.75). Increasing the minimum price to 50p per unit would bring the price up to £7.
Dr Reilly said Ministers were not seeking to impose a “Nanny State” but to deal with alcohol misuse.
Figures cited by Dr Reilly and Mr Poots put the yearly cost of alcohol abuse on the island at about €4.7 billion in terms of healthcare, crime and loss of economic output – as well as the human cost of the lives of several hundred people annually.
Speakers including the Ministers; Prof Sir Ian Gilmour, chairman of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance; Denis Bradley, former deputy chairman of the North's policing board, who is professionally involved in treating drink and alcohol abuse; and Irish Timescolumnist John Waters, all agreed that imposing a minimum price per unit of alcohol would be an important weapon in tackling abuse.
“In the UK the calculations are that a 50p minimum price (per unit of alcohol) would save 3,400 deaths a year, 100,000 hospital admissions, 45,000 crimes and about £50 billion savings over 10 years,” said Prof Gilmour.