2|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie
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Border retailers fear cross border
THE Government is pressing ahead with plans to introduce a Minimum Unit Price (MUP) for alcohol products, despite a lack of alignment with Northern Ireland. Earlier this month, Cabinet signed off on the introduction of MUP, which is listed in Section 11 of the Public Health Alcohol Act, with a commencement date of January 1, 2022. The plans set a minimum price of 10c per gram of alcohol, raising the price of a can of lager to at least €1.32. A 750ml bottle of wine will cost at least €7.75 and the minimum price for a 700ml bottle of gin or vodka will be €20.71. According to industry group Drinks Ireland, this will result in the price differential on alcohol between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland rising to 38%. Patricia Callan, Director of Drinks Ireland, believes that its introduction will
Tara Buckley, RGDATA Director General.
“drive many price sensitive households, who have already been hard-hit by the pandemic, to shop across the border. It would also place massive pressures on border businesses, and lead to an increase in illicit alcohol smuggling at the border, all at a vulnerable time for our economy.” Charlie McClafferty, proprietor of McClafferty’s Carry Out Letterkenny, told R etail N ews that he blamed large supermarkets for the situation. “They are fighting to get people into their shops where they can take hits on selling cheap alcohol,” he said. “We’re all tired of this. We can’t compete at all, especially at Christmas time. I firmly put the blame with the big boys. There was no responsible trading of alcohol for a long time.” Retailers are overwhelmingly in support of MUP, but they believe it should be introduced on a unilateral basis with Northern Ireland. “When there are price differentials between the north and south, currency fluctuations, and the lure of cheap alcohol, Irish consumers do considerable amounts of shopping in the north,” said Tara Buckley, RGDATA Director General, who noted that consumers are likely to buy other products while shopping for booze across the border. Arnold Dillon, Director of Retail Ireland, concurred: “If consumers travel to Northern Ireland to shop, they will inevitably spend money in a wide range of retail and hospitality outlets, not just in grocery and off-trade. This will be at the expense of struggling businesses here. While retailers in border regions will be hit hardest, we have seen in the past that consumers will travel long distances to save money.” The Government had previously vowed to introduce MUP when similar
Vincent Jennings, CEO of the CSNA. rules came into force in Northern Ireland. “The introduction of this Act was predicated on it being jointly enforced with the north,” said Vincent Jennings of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA). “Now it is going ahead regardless of what the north does.” Stephen Donnelly TD, Minister for Health, said his department decided to overlook the terms laid out within the Programme for Government, after Robin Swann, Health Minister in Northern Ireland, opted not to introduce MUP. “That why we are acting now,” said Donnelly. “It’s likely that minimum unit pricing would not be introduced in Northern Ireland until 2023, and possibly longer. That would be nearly five years after we decided in Ireland to adopt the measure. And we as a Government are not willing to wait that long.” Leo Varadkar TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, also admitted he was contradicting his own previous statements: “I’m on the record as saying that we should only move ahead with minimum unit pricing in tandem with Northern Ireland, and that it wouldn’t work if people were crossing the border to buy cheaper alcohol. But I’m also on the record as saying that we cannot wait forever. And with Northern Ireland’s recent announcement, we believe we have to proceed now.” Tara Buckley said that certain ministers pushed for the immediate introduction of MUP. “My understanding is that Frank Feighan [Minister of State
