Alcohol sales in Northern Ireland are expected to rise as Ireland’s new pricing on alcohol, coming into effect in all supermarkets and off-licences from next week, is expected to drive consumers to the northside to buy cheaper alcohol.
From January 4, the minimum unit price of alcoholic drinks in Ireland will be set at 10c per gram of alcohol and will cause the highest price hike in strong spirits such as whiskey, gin and vodka.
Vincent Jennings, chief executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association, warned that the move will simply drive consumers to buy cheaper alcohol elsewhere such as in Northern Ireland
“There will be a very significant amount of purchasing done north of the border,” he said.
Under the new law, the cheapest price for a 750ml bottle of wine (12.5 per cent alcohol) will be €7.40, where previously the cheapest supermarket bottle of wine could be bought for less than €4. Gin and vodka (40 per cent) will cost no less than €20.71 for a 700ml bottle while a similar-sized 700ml bottle of whiskey, which is a slightly higher alcohol percentage (43 per cent), will cost at least €22.0.
A health expert said that the new rules would reduce alcohol-related deaths in Ireland by about 200 every year as well as 6,000 less alcohol-related hospital admissions.
The minimum price of a 500ml can of lager will be €1.70 and and €1.66 for a 500ml can of stout under the new pricing. The major law change was approved in May 2021 and will come into force in a matter of days as the new year approaches.
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