Minimum alcohol pricing is nigh

odyssey06 wrote: »

You used to be able to get two miniature bottles of wine in Tesco for €5, or 2 half bottles for €10.
That deal is gone now.
You may as well buy a full size discounted bottle.

The half bottle of Chilean in Aldi is much nicer

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

It's a welcome idea tbh. When I go back to Ireland I'm always struck by how cheap alcohol has remained when benchmarked against other goods. 6 cans/bottles of beer in a supermarket is the same price as it was when I started university 20 years ago. A bottle of wine for €7, a bottle of cheap vodka for €12. Almost the exact same price as Germany to be honest.

Last time I was in Munich I was buying bottles of Augustiner for 80c, and that's a premium beer. They charge 3.50 for the same bottle in my local off licence, still ridiculous even though it's an import and exotic. Booze is far, far cheaper over there.

Zebra3 wrote: »

If alcohol is so dangerous and such a dreadful thing, why do our politicians line up to have their photo taken with the US president with a pint of stout?
Oh yeah, that'll be the hypocrisy. Did they do away with taxpayer funded discounted alcohol in their workplace bar?

Alcohol drunk by politicians in a pub takes on magical properties.
Doesn't matter how much you drink, you don't have a problem and you can still drive home that night.

Based on a not that limited selection of a supermarket (Supervalu), a convenience store (Centra), physical off licences and an online one the ban on multi-buying has, as anyone could have expected, actually reduced the cost of buying single cans/bottles.

Hence making them more affordable for kids. Fantastic way for an idea backfire.

€276,807 in "grants" which I assume is all from the taxpayer (open to correction on that) for this bunch of extremists according to their 2019 accounts.

Seems like a few nice junkets as well at our expense.

No break down of how our money was spent on these junkets or what (if any) salaries are being paid.

No profits, no rent, no insurance, tiny licence cost (members club) - likely dearer staff though. Would make the prices seem subsidised.

The food in the visitors restaurant is unsubsidised, cheap and good (particularly the breakfast). Never got in to the bar!

Suckit wrote: »

They also put it on their 'expenses' and leave it unpaid for months at a time.

And there's the occasions when our politicians basically steal from the taxpayer.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/unpaid-d%C3%A1il-bar-bills-written-off-over-failure-to-settle-tabs-1.3171521

Doctor Jimbob wrote: »

The number of young people drinking in this country is declining despite the alleged dangerously cheap prices. So why the need for this intervention?

That's a rhetorical question. The need for this intervention is to do the vintners a favour under the guise of public health.

Because drugs is rampant here. But alcohol is the problem. Pack of dumbasses that are so outa touch.

Suckit wrote: »

They also put it on their 'expenses' and leave it unpaid for months at a time.
It's also open for them to go in and have a drink at pretty much any time - even when the Dáil is in session, which is f**king ridiculous. Staff I am betting are already on higher wages thanks to their brother/mother/father/sister/uncle/aunt/cousin/neighbour etc.. getting them the job in there to begin with, and that pushed aside, it should be closed during sitting times anyway.

Why is it open before 8PM on any of those days? And that is being generous.
What incentive have they got to do any work if they are getting cheap pints on tick during work hours? Other than to throw their face in every now and then.
If we can't be trusted buying expensive alcohol at a cheaper price every now and then with random 'special offers', then how the f*ck can they be trusted to not sit in the bar until they are 4 or 5 pints deep of cheap pints before walking next door tp decide how best to look after our Country?

its supposed to be a fantastic evening of fun if you ever get the chance to visit the dail bar, a friend of mine is a senator and he said he would organise a good pisss up some night, theres apartments that TDs can use near kildare st if there staying in dublin overnight on business, mostly used by politicans who go the lash when likes of cheltenham and stuff is on, they all head to Doheny and Nesbitt go the lash for the afternoon some country TDs stay up for night, fo Flannerys, Coppers all that. sounds some craic!

Yes it's only really the UK and Ireland were drunk yobo culture exists. I'm sure Dublin used to be far worse years ago like in the 90s early 2000s, more fights and yobbery etc in town, it seemed more civilised in the years leading up to lockdown.

Dickie10 wrote: »

Can someone explain to me what exactly happens on a night out in continental europe? sounds a mythical place where there is no trouble relating to alchol, i havent been much, i was in santa ponsa, lanzarote, tenerife but there not prob good examples.

Like do people 18-35 not go on the beer at the weekends or what do they be at? i know theres a huge nightclub culture over there in belgium, germany , holland so is it drugs there all at ot what?
I like the british cities and towns and the nightlife in them, always feel very at home there. if irish government mess around on opening up hospitality i will do a few trips to liverpool, cardiff, edinburugh, london, belfast in summer

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

My own experiences are with belgium, holland and germany and it has always been very civilised. People do get drunk but that is not the aim of the exercise like it seems to be here. There is little or no aggravation involved. I had similar experiences in Spain but it was nowhere like santa ponsa, lanzarote or tenerife. The couple of people I was with were the only non-spanish in the place.

It's almost as though having less restrictive laws, people behave more responsibly and don't try and cram a load of alcohol into their systems in the shortest time.. :rolleyes:
It has been argued numerous times (and successfully) that reducing the age and abolishing the 11:30 - 12:30 archaic closing times, that there would be less problems.
Not relating to alcoholism, but I doubt very, very much that putting a 'floor price' in will do that either. It just means that many will be drinking paint stripper or whatever crap they can afford or buy on a corner.

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Yes it's only really the UK and Ireland were drunk yobo culture exists. I'm sure Dublin used to be far worse years ago like in the 90s early 2000s, more fights and yobbery etc in town, it seemed more civilised in the years leading up to lockdown.

Where I lived there was literally a fight every single Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. When we were younger we used to go up to the chipper before closing and get a bag of chips and sit on the wall waiting for them to come out of the pubs.
One of the pubs got blamed for attracting a 'bad crowd' and was given strikes. After a few more mass brawls and one final one that went right out into the street with tables and chairs being smashed over each other, it was turned into a restaurant for a while before slowly transforming bit by bit back into a pub over the following 10 years, and believe it or not, that was a nice area .
Definitely related to everyone having to drink in x amount of time and all being kicked out into the street at the same time. It stopped happening as often when more late bars and nightclubs started to open in the surrounding areas.

Commotion Ocean wrote: »

...I believe in capitalism. ...

WTF