Minimum alcohol pricing is nigh

Macy0161

Zaph wrote: »

It possibly says a lot about the state of education in the country that they felt the need to spell that out, rather than assuming people would be able to figure it out themselves.

Well it was Bray...

It did just look like they'd put a "€2.50 =" sticker on top of the existing shelf label banner thing rather than redoing the whole thing.

I don't buy commercial or wine, so didn't even look to see what they'd done there, and I wouldn't have a reference point anyway.

jos28

Just back from doing the 'Big' shop. I was prepared for no multi deals, no loyalty points on alcohol purchases. I didn't realise that alcohol does not count as part of your total shop. I had a voucher for €20 off every €100 spent , but that €100 total cannot include drink. No €20 off for me :mad:

kerryjack

Herself was out shopping and looking for her Friday night bottle of wine, she said its usual 10 but now 15 euro she not that happy, she working front line and that's the thanks she gets.

Fr Tod Umptious

kerryjack wrote: »

Herself was out shopping and looking for her Friday night bottle of wine, she said its usual 10 but now 15 euro she not that happy, she working front line and that's the thanks she gets.

Well I'd take that up with he supermarket or shop around as MUP has not come in yet, as was posted not that long ago here.

kerryjack

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Well I'd take that up with he supermarket or shop around as MUP has not come in yet, as was posted not that long ago here.

Ya was thinking that I thing she is being a bit dramatic about it.

kerryjack

kerryjack wrote: »

Herself was out shopping and looking for her Friday night bottle of wine, she said its usual 10 but now 15 euro she not that happy, she working front line and that's the thanks she gets.

I did a big shop order for Tesco a few days ago. They'd usually have a few cheapy 5 euro bottles. The cheapest I could find was 8, and the majority were 10-15+.

wonga77

I disagree, the "drinking problems" are myths from the government.

Wine prices haven't gone up though?

wonga77

wonga77 wrote: »

Wine prices haven't gone up though?

Promotions have been reduced. No more buy 6 bottles and get 10-20% off.

Anecdotal evidence on my part, but when there would always be one or two for 5 euros, the cheapest I could find was about 8. This was Tesco, and maybe Tesco alone decided to increase(or remove a previous decrease) in price, but the effect in my big shop was an increase in price.

wonga77

I disagree, the "drinking problems" are myths from the government.

Been ages since I saw a bottle of wine for a fiver but then I don't live near a Tesco so wouldn't be in there too often. I've seen bottles of wine for 5 and 6 in lidl alright but that was ages ago.
My brother lived in Madrid about 3 or 4 years ago. The exact same wine he could buy there for 4 euro is 14 here

jimmycrackcorm

I disagree, the "drinking problems" are myths from the government.

kerryjack wrote: »

Herself was out shopping and looking for her Friday night bottle of wine, she said its usual 10 but now 15 euro she not that happy, she working front line and that's the thanks she gets.

My local centra often do a bottle of wine I like for about 8 euro on a half-price offer,. Every few weeks they put the price back up to 16 and after another week or so it gets reduced again. Makes you wonder...

Thelonious Monk

wonga77 wrote: »

Been ages since I saw a bottle of wine for a fiver but then I don't live near a Tesco so wouldn't be in there too often. I've seen bottles of wine for 5 and 6 in lidl alright but that was ages ago.
My brother lived in Madrid about 3 or 4 years ago. The exact same wine he could buy there for 4 euro is 14 here

You can get good bottles in Spain for 1.50 sometimes, I often have, and it's not like their salaries are 5 or 6 times ours, even though they're considerably less.

wonga77

I disagree, the "drinking problems" are myths from the government.

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

You can get good bottles in Spain for 1.50 sometimes, I often have.

Oh I know, he said spending 4 was splashing out

elperello

Deleted User wrote: »

I did a big shop order for Tesco a few days ago. They'd usually have a few cheapy 5 euro bottles. The cheapest I could find was 8, and the majority were 10-15+.

Tesco have wine for c. €3.90.
I saw it out of the corner of my eye yesterday. I think it's been that price for a couple of years.
I think it's Spanish both red and white versions.
Not giving any opinion on quality, buy one and try it.

Quackster

I disagree, the "drinking problems" are myths from the government.

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

no, the bundling offers have been banned as I said. the price increases i.e. MUP will come later.

I'm completely aware of that.

But for craft-beer drinkers like myself who previously picked up their preferred tipple in the supermarket, the ban on multi-buy offers IS a price increase.

Quackster

I disagree, the "drinking problems" are myths from the government.

wonga77 wrote: »

Been ages since I saw a bottle of wine for a fiver but then I don't live near a Tesco so wouldn't be in there too often. I've seen bottles of wine for 5 and 6 in lidl alright but that was ages ago.
My brother lived in Madrid about 3 or 4 years ago. The exact same wine he could buy there for 4 euro is 14 here

Lidl had a few wines at six for €20 in the run-up to Christmas (€3.33 each). Somehow I doubt we'll ever see the likes of that here again!

weldoninhio

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Scotland introduced MUP a few years ago and I believe there were a number of EU investigations and court cases about it's validity before it was finally introduced.

And since then they’ve had absolutely huge numbers of drug deaths.

ohnonotgmail

elperello wrote: »

Tesco have wine for c. €3.90.
I saw it out of the corner of my eye yesterday. I think it's been that price for a couple of years.
I think it's Spanish both red and white versions.
Not giving any opinion on quality, buy one and try it.

at 3.90 practically all of the cost price is going to the government.

Mimon

elperello wrote: »

Tesco have wine for c. €3.90.
I saw it out of the corner of my eye yesterday. I think it's been that price for a couple of years.
I think it's Spanish both red and white versions.
Not giving any opinion on quality, buy one and try it.

Pure piss as you can imagine. The FIL was told not to drink it anymore by his doctor. Turns my stomach after 1 sip.

Would imagine it is more sugar than grape in origin.

Mimon

Quackster wrote: »

I'm completely aware of that.

But for craft-beer drinkers like myself who previously picked up their preferred tipple in the supermarket, the ban on multi-buy offers IS a price increase.

Supermarkets will have to reduce soon to match the previous mutibuy prices or they will loose the craft beer market to places that have changed already.

Can't see it being an issue as they were selling the vast majority of it at the multibuy price anyway.

kerryjack

Mimon wrote: »

Pure piss as you can imagine. The FIL was told not to drink it anymore by his doctor. Turns my stomach after 1 sip.

Ya have to agree with you there like a glass of red with dinner weekends o a glass of chilled white but have to be fairly decent stuff. Some of that cheap stuff is like the washing up of the barrel you can nearly taste the detergent.

Mimon

kerryjack wrote: »

Ya have to agree with you there like a glass of red with dinner weekends o a glass of chilled white but have to be fairly decent stuff. Some of that cheap stuff is like the washing up of the barrel you can nearly taste the detergent.

Meant to say this is the red. Maybe the white is ok :pac:

listermint

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Well I'd take that up with he supermarket or shop around as MUP has not come in yet, as was posted not that long ago here.

We know , but sure your dying for it to come in.

elperello

elperello wrote: »

Tesco have wine for c. €3.90.
I saw it out of the corner of my eye yesterday. I think it's been that price for a couple of years.
I think it's Spanish both red and white versions.
Not giving any opinion on quality, buy one and try it.

I brought spanish wine that was a euro for litre in a carton from Czech Republic home for Christmas one year. A euro for litre of wine. My sister makes wine. Everyone agreed it tasted pretty good and its what we drank all over christmas.

When doing the aforementioned big shop there was nothing in the 3.90+ category. May simply have been my local shop. The cheapest was 8 euro.

weldoninhio

weldoninhio wrote: »

And since then they’ve had absolutely huge numbers of drug deaths.

I dunno how the anti-alcohol crowd are ignoring this aspect.


I'd say I drink maybe a dozen cans a year. Not a big drinker at all. I live in a rough area, typical council estate, no shortage of scumbags, and I haven't seen the current generation of scum anywhere near alcohol. Far too expensive, when they have easy access to drugs for a pittance.


The only upside is less broken glass bottles around the place nowadays, but everyone's off their heads on something and the amount of people fighting/attacking each other and ambulance jobs from self-harm is much more prevalent than ever it was before.




I really can't see what the harm is in letting people buy what they want, alcohol-wise. No one benefits from price increases across the board. Alcoholics aren't going to go without - they'll just rob the money if they need it, and the people working jobs who enjoy a drink at the weekend or of an evening are now paying more for it, despite not contributing to the issues it creates.






This is going to backfire so spectacularly (and so obviously) that it's amazing to think it's still being pushed through with the usual with blinkers on, ignoring anyone that disagrees.

Quackster

I disagree, the "drinking problems" are myths from the government.

Mimon wrote: »

Supermarkets will have to reduce soon to match the previous mutibuy prices or they will loose the craft beer market to places that have changed already.

Can't see it being an issue as they were selling the vast majority of it at the multibuy price anyway.

Yeah. I haven't been in any of my local offies so far so don't know what they're doing. Alas, don't have an O'Brien's near me as it sounds like they've reduced unit prices to match previous multi-buy beer deals.

Garibaldi?

The Aldi Liebfraumilch is lovely. Not too strong. Nice and fruity. €4.61

Fr Tod Umptious

listermint wrote: »

We know , but sure your dying for it to come in.

Not really.
At this stage in my life alcohol makes up a tiny proportion of the household budget, whether that be off license or pub (when they were open)
So MUP is not going to have a big effect on me.
But I also believe that it's a very blunt instrument to use to reduce alcohol consumption.

I'd prefer if they tackled the issues around the visibility of alcohol products first and give that time to work before going to MUP.
Things like advertising, sponsorship etc should be curtailed and finally eliminated, like with smoking, before using the pricing options.
And the pricing options should be excise based rather than MUP.

Hotblack Desiato

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I agree that minimum pricing will not stop those that have an issue. However if we look back at the way smoking was reduced it was something similar. 50 years ago a portion of the population smoked. It took 50 years of a combination of measures to reduce smoking to where it is now.

Yeah but tobacco kills half the people who use it. Alcohol is nothing like that. It's also a lot easier to homebrew than it is to grow tobacco!

See the way come has reduced there can size

They had to in fairness, it was taking the lads way too long to fill a can

ShamNNspace

In a polish shop here in galway there last week they had grand bottles of svyturys(lithuanian) beer and a few others for €1 a bottle. bbd 30 dec but they were grand not a bother, I suppose that'll be stopped now too

Hotblack Desiato

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Yes but minimum pricing will have little effect on those that drink for nutritional benefit. Those that drink in moderation or not at all will see those that drink excessively pay more tax. This reduces the tax burden on moderate drinkers.

Whooooosh.

Minimum unit pricing is NOT a tax. The extra you pay goes straight into the pockets of the alcohol industry.

elperello

ShamNNspace wrote: »

In a polish shop here in galway there last week they had grand bottles of svyturys(lithuanian) beer and a few others for €1 a bottle. bbd 30 dec but they were grand not a bother, I suppose that'll be stopped now too

That's an interesting point.

The MUP legislation will stop retailers reducing the price of beers coming close to out of date thus increasing their overheads.

Either they will pass on the extra costs or be more conservative in stocking different beers.

Either way the consumer loses.

Hotblack Desiato

murpho999 wrote: »

Also if you read my post you'll see I was referring more to the separation of alcohol in the supermarkets, which I think makes sense and I never mentioned pricing at all.

Those doors are just completely stupid. And in the middle of a pandemic something that impedes the flow of people causing them to congregate, and touch something unnecessarily, is an even more stupid idea.

In relation to pricing , I don't think it's as bad as people make out .

We have the 2nd dearest alcohol in Europe. Most countries with far cheaper alcohol than us drink less than we do. But consumption here has been falling for over 20 years now.

I do however feel the legislation is coming from lobbying by publicans.

Too right! One of the most powerful vested interests in Ireland.

I dislike Wetherspoons (and especially their owner) but they go to show just how much of a rip-off all other pubs in Ireland are. They can sell drink at in some cases less than half the price and still make a profit.

Either way I have not noticed any increase in price in my local supermarket this week.

Your 4 for €10 etc. craft beer offers are gone, one of my favourites (Guinness West Indies Porter) was €3.20 yesterday in Tesco instead of 4 for €10. Fcuk that for a game of soldiers. So I bought a bottle of spirits instead :rolleyes:

I do think that smoking bans etc are comparable as they're laws designed to affect people's behaviour and were also met with a lot of opposition.

Smoking bans are not at all comparable (they're comparable to the byelaws which stop you drinking in most public places - which are bollox. e.g. a couple having a picnic in the park could be arrested for sharing a bottle of wine. By all means punish the drunk and disorderly, not people peacefully enjoing a drink.)

You can still smoke as much as you like, you just can't force other people to inhale it.
Imagine if every time I drank a pint, I forced the person sitting next to me to drink a half :pac:

Also, the drug issue, completely separate. But maybe that should be looked at as many would argue that drugs are less harmful to society than alcohol.

It's not separate at all, as they've found out in Scotland once drink went up in price due to minimum unit pricing - drug use and drug related harm went up.

If you've got €10 or €20 and want to get out of your bin there are all sorts of illegal alternatives if you can no longer buy a decent amount of drink - some of which are far more dangerous for one's health than alcohol.

Hotblack Desiato

jos28 wrote: »

Just back from doing the 'Big' shop. I was prepared for no multi deals, no loyalty points on alcohol purchases. I didn't realise that alcohol does not count as part of your total shop. I had a voucher for €20 off every €100 spent , but that €100 total cannot include drink. No €20 off for me :mad:

Instead of running off in Dunnes to grab a bottle of wine to get the total over the mark for another €10 off €50 voucher, you'll have to grab a multipack of toilet rolls instead :pac:

Hotblack Desiato

wonga77 wrote: »

My brother lived in Madrid about 3 or 4 years ago. The exact same wine he could buy there for 4 euro is 14 here

You can buy a litre of Jameson in Lanzarote for 15 euro. Same bottle, produced in Ireland of course, costs €45 here. It's obscene.

Deleted User wrote: »

Alcoholics aren't going to go without - they'll just rob the money if they need it, and the people working jobs who enjoy a drink at the weekend or of an evening are now paying more for it, despite not contributing to the issues it creates.

It's a lot easier, less risky, and treated more leniently by the courts, to just shoplift a bottle of spirits rather than mug or pickpocket someone to get the cash to buy same.

This is going to backfire so spectacularly (and so obviously) that it's amazing to think it's still being pushed through with the usual with blinkers on, ignoring anyone that disagrees.

The complete unthinking acceptance of this bolloxology by all political parties without debate is infuriating. Have they all been bought off by the vintners or what?

The last time this sort of bullshít groupthink took hold was the utterly stupid Turn Off The Red Light fiasco. Feminists and nuns joining in common cause, you couldn't make it up.

Hotblack Desiato

Shelflife wrote: »

HSE fund them.

They are a registered charity.

Charities should not be allowed to receive taxpayers' money. Charitable giving is supposed to be a choice, paying taxes is not a choice.

Using taxpayers' money to lobby to change government policy is outrageous. It's even worse when the vast majority of taxpayers are opposed to these policies.

Even threatening politicians with losing votes is no use, all parties are in favour of this bunch of wánk :mad:

StudentDad

Gotta love this country. Don't do that, it's fun. Can't have fun. They'll be after the biscuits next. Then pastries and cakes.

What new and wonderful ideas will the Ministry of Misery come up with next?

y0ssar1an22

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Whooooosh.

Minimum unit pricing is NOT a tax. The extra you pay goes straight into the pockets of the alcohol industry.

is that actually true? as in the gov aint making an iota in extra income from the increase in price (we can ignore VAT)?

Hotblack Desiato

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

It's a lot easier, less risky, and treated more leniently by the courts, to just shoplift a bottle of spirits rather than mug or pickpocket someone to get the cash to buy same.

I'd disagree to the extent that I reckon your typical alcoholic is very likely to copped by security, trying to steal a bottle out of Tesco.

Putting a brick through a few car windows to have a rummage would likely pay for a few bottles and there's no punishment for that, either.

Thelonious Monk

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

is that actually true? as in the gov aint making an iota in extra income from the increase in price (we can ignore VAT)?

Yes. If they put a tax on alcohol it would affect pubs too, whom they don't want to upset.

y0ssar1an22

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

is that actually true? as in the gov aint making an iota in extra income from the increase in price (we can ignore VAT)?

Not a cent.

nestegg

I emailed a 'thank you' alcohol action ireland and in fairness to them they did actually reply. I encourage you all to send an email to tell them how much you enjoy their bullsht.

nestegg

nestegg wrote: »

I emailed a 'thank you' alcohol action ireland and in fairness to them they did actually reply. I encourage you all to send an email to tell them how much you enjoy their bullsht.

But those dry sh!tes don't realise you're being sarcastic.

Captain_Crash

I disagree, the "drinking problems" are myths from the government.

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

If they put a tax on alcohol it would affect pubs too, whom they don't want to upset.

I think that horse has bolted!

Thelonious Monk

Captain_Crash wrote: »

I think that horse has bolted!

Yeah well, I think people have realised you dont need pubs to have a life in Ireland, so maybe they might need to rethink their pub strategy to get people back in when all this blows over and lower prices.
No who am I kidding, they'll be chock-a-block as soon as we're allowed back and they'll be able to charge what they like as usual.

Captain_Crash

I disagree, the "drinking problems" are myths from the government.

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Yeah well, I think people have realised you dont need pubs to have a life in Ireland, so maybe they might need to rethink their pub strategy to get people back in when all this blows over and lower prices.
No who am I kidding, they'll be chock-a-block as soon as we're allowed back and they'll be able to charge what they like as usual.

Agree! If they all opened as normal today they’d be full tonight like nothing happened! Funny cause it’s true!

Mimon

Next election we need to tell anyone turning up at the doorstep that they will not be getting a vote because of this nanny state BS. I guess as they all support will tell them all the same.

Need some sort of Libertarian party here!

Thelonious Monk

Mimon wrote: »

Next election we need to tell anyone turning up at the doorstep that they will not be getting a vote because of this nanny state BS. I guess as they all support will tell them all the same.

Need some sort of Libertarian party here!

The only option will be to vote for someone who wasn't in Gov at the time of this nonsense.

Fr Tod Umptious

Mimon wrote: »

Next election we need to tell anyone turning up at the doorstep that they will not be getting a vote because of this nanny state BS. I guess as they all support will tell them all the same.

Need some sort of Libertarian party here!

What did you do in 2020 for the election ?

MUP was on the cards before that

Fr Tod Umptious

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

The only option will be to vote for someone who wasn't in Gov at the time of this nonsense.

All parties supported this, so you would have to have voted for someone who was not even in the Dail, never mind not in Govt.

truth and logic

It's very disappointing and disturbing that people have no choice when it comes to these matters.

I don't want this nanny state but I have no-one to vote for. I don't vote for the established parties because they refuse to act in my interests.


I'm sick and tired of this nonsense and this nanny state and I'm just waiting for an alternative to vote for.

Why isn't cannabis legal in this country?
There's clear majority support for the legalisation of cannabis and yet it doesn't happen.

It's appropriate that politicians should be hated in these circumstances. It's obvious why people vote for Trump and for Brexit. Our politicians are sanctimonious failures.