Posted on 01/03/2022 6:51:43 PM PST by Olog-hai
The Government decision to introduce minimum unit pricing on alcohol this week has been welcomed by Alcohol Action Ireland.
The new law will largely affect alcohol sold in off-licenses, shops and supermarkets.
For that past decade, the Government has been seeking to bring in minimum unit pricing as part of a number of measures to help reduce the harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
The aim is to change dangerous patterns of alcohol behavior particularly amongst young drinkers, who are buying cheap alcohol before they go out in what is known as pre-drinking.
This alcohol will now be more expensive with the intention of deterring binge drinking.
A broad breakdown of the new measures shows a standard bottle of wine cannot be sold for less than €7.40 and a can of beer for less than €1.70.
Spirits like gin or vodka with 40% alcohol content cannot be sold for less than €20.70 and a 700 ml bottle of whiskey for less than €22. …
(Excerpt) Read more at rte.ie ...
Gresham’s law comes to mind.
“...who are buying cheap alcohol before they go out in what is known as pre-drinking.”
It wasn’t the pre-drinking that got me...it was the post-drinking.
Idiots. It can all be brewed or distilled for much less than those price minimums.
So everyone in Ireland is going to have to drink fancy liquor.
It used to be like that in the US in a way when the alcohol tax was so high. Inflation has reduced the effective tax, which put most moonshiners out of business.
Silly Ommadawns.
I think I’ll let them work that out.
Wow that is like $11 for a 6-pack of beer. The Irish are going to have to drink some really fancy liquor or else stick to drinking in pubs.
The shebeens will make a big comeback.
“Wow that is like $11 for a 6-pack of beer. The Irish are going to have to drink some really fancy liquor or else stick to drinking in pubs.”
I bet someone has already envisioned the beginnings of the black market to come.
You hit on the real reason for this law. The pub industry is huge in Ireland and carries a lot of clout. They want people drinking in pubs for 5 Euros a pint, not buying it for a quarter that and drinking it somewhere other than the pub. As with all things, follow the money. It has nothing to do with lowering binge drinking and everything to do with keeping the profits up for a politically connected industry.
Does the minimum price not effect the price of alcoholic beverages in a pub?
Probably not. It is the minimum retail price. I think Irish mostly drink in pubs, which is more social.
I assume the minimum price will result in both a lot of high quality liquor being sold in stores and big profits for stores.
Expect Poteen to make a comeback.
At the foot of the hill there’s a neat little still
where the smoke curls up to the sky,
by the smoke and the smell y’can plainly tell
there’s poteen brewin’ nearby.
It fills the air with an odor rare
and betwixt both me and you,
as home you stroll you can take a bowl
or a bucket of the mountain dew!
Hi di-diddly-idle-um, diddly-doodle-idle-um, diddly-doo-
ri-diddlum-dey
Hi di-diddly-idle-um, diddly-doodle-idle-um,diddly-doo-
ri-diddlum-dey
And how does price fixing do that?
It makes it more expensive to buy alcohol to drink at home so people say the heck with it, if it's not saving me much money to drink at home I'll drink in the pub.
Think of it like food. If you can cook and eat at home for $3 and the local restaurant charges $15 then you'll likely cook for yourself. If the government puts a minimum price on groceries where the ingredients now cost you $10 then you'll likely say the heck with, I'll eat at the restaurant where I don't have to cook and clean, and I can flirt with the waitress.
No. It just creates a black market and actually destroys profits for the big companies. Do not presume that the large legitimate brewers and distillers are the sole suppliers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.