Minimum alcohol pricing is nigh

Why do people keep voting these dickheads back in?

In another thread someone was trying to argue that cheap wine in France is piss and good wine must cost lots of money. Which anyone knows is rubbish.

I came home for Christmas a few years ago with 5 1-litre cartons of red wine. Poured it into a decanter so no-one saw the carton. Served it to various neighbours and friends who came over, all were saying how nice the wine was.

I didn't tell them it cost 5 euros. Total. The cartons were a euro each.

I didn't bother engaging with them. There is not convincing those types.

How much is MUP there I wonder? A girl that works in my local is Slovakian and she goes back to visit regularly. A bottle of beer in her local pub is €1.50 so presumably it's less in the shops.

I'll ask her the next day I'm in.

So it's a case that we have to keep pressure on government and media over this, we are being ripped off blind compared to our European neighbours with virtually highest beer and wine prices in EU.

Also we do not have an exceptional alcohol problem it is generally less than other countries. Germany has cheap beer but it also has alot of homeless alcoholics. However German society accepts that , there would be uproar and people protesting outside bundestag if any group like AA Ireland came in to double the price of beer under MUP, there would be another night of broken glass if that was even suggested.

YYet In Ireland mup comes in without any vigorous debate in parliament or media and population just shrugs it's shoulders and takes it

Whereas the Irish would just bend over and take both while doing nothing about it.

I wonder which society is more "depraved".

To be honest, we really need our own Monster Raving Looney party. If they had some bats#it crazy policies like free corsets for the under fives and the abolition of MUP, I think they would get voted in.

Our problem is FF and FG candidates know they are safe to be voted back in, so have no fear of the people. And so are happy to put their name against any bill that they know is going to annoy people.

It's not really feasible to go to Slovakia for cheap booze while getting "high paid" tech or pharma wages here. You'd have to be importing booze by the pallet load at least. Which if you can prove its for personal use is allowed under EU rules. Just the cost would be prohibitive.

Any time, and especially around Brexit, any time I hear or heard of "ooh the EU controlling our laws", I thought actually I almost wish there were EU-wide laws on prices. Ireland or I should say the government, has artificially increased our prices for alcohol and other things so much we are now one of the most expensive countries in Europe. I wish the EU could protect us from ourselves(or our hand-wringing government).

And Czechia is even more liberal!

I remember hearing that Germans liked to come to Czechia because the laws were more relaxed.

In what way, I did not want to ask.

They sold beer in my gym. There was also an intercity bus service, similar to City Link here(and very similar livery), where there was a steward as well as the driver and you could buy beer and a sandwich/snacks from them.

The things they have in other countries could make you despair about this country of ours.

The same set of lies have been discredited multiple times already on the thread. Anyone who has been to supermarkets across Europe can see Irish alcohol products cheaper, not just in Latvia, Poland but France, Germany, Spain, Denmark. Utterly disingenuous line of argument. You would have be fairly clueless / ignorant to fall for it.

Myself and the missus went on a mini camping trip to France week before last, very enjoyable, good weather and food along the way.

Went to E.LeClerc and the WineBeerSupermarket in Cherbourg coming home, picked up about 12 cases of decent wine, the saving compared to here paid for half the price of the ferry ticket. No brainer, I'll be going back in a few months to re-stock.