Alcohol Action Ireland to address Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Alcohol Action Ireland, the national charity for alcohol-related issues, will address the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality next Tuesday, March 25 at 12 noon

Alcohol plays a key role in crime in Ireland and the type and severity of alcohol-related offences are wide-ranging, from inconvenience and disturbance to violent assault and manslaughter. The annual cost of alcohol-related crime to the State is an estimated €1.2 billion.*

The Committee will also hear from Professor Tim Stockwell, a world-leading expert on minimum pricing for alcohol. He is Director at the Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, and Professor at the Department of Psychology in the University of Victoria.

Professor Stockwell will present “Minimum alcohol price policies in action”, based on his research into the effectiveness of minimum pricing in Canada. He will look at the impact of a minimum price for alcohol on crime and health outcomes in Canadian Provinces.

Minimum pricing is one of the key proposals in the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill currently being drafted by the Department of Health.

For further information on minimum pricing see: http://bit.ly/Z5FN9E

To hear Minister Alex White explain the issues surrounding the legal challenge to minimum pricing in Scotland: http://vimeo.com/88788632

*Figure from Cost to Society of Problem Alcohol Use in Ireland. A report for the Health Service Executive.